@article {RADES5065, author = {DIRK RADES and SVENJA KOPELKE and TAMER SOROR and TOBIAS BARTSCHT and SOEREN TVILSTED and TROELS W. KJAER and STEVEN E. SCHILD}, title = {Risk Factors for Sleep Disturbances in Patients Scheduled for Radiotherapy of Head-and-Neck Cancer}, volume = {41}, number = {10}, pages = {5065--5069}, year = {2021}, doi = {10.21873/anticanres.15322}, publisher = {International Institute of Anticancer Research}, abstract = {Background/Aim: Many patients with head-and-neck cancer are scheduled for irradiation. This study was performed to determine the frequency of and risk factors for pre-radiotherapy sleep disturbances in these patients. Patients and Methods: A total of 103 patients with head-and-neck cancer scheduled for radiotherapy were included in this retrospective study. Eighteen characteristics were evaluated including timing of start of radiotherapy relative to COVID-19 pandemic; age; gender; Karnofsky performance score; Charlson comorbidity index; history of another malignancy; family history of malignancy; distress score; number of emotional, physical or practical problems; request for psychological support; tumor site and stage; upfront surgery; planned chemotherapy; and brachytherapy boost. Results: The frequency of pre-radiotherapy sleep disturbances was 42.7\%. This was significantly associated with age <=63 years (p=0.049), Karnofsky performance score <=80 (p=0.002), Charlson comorbidity index >=3 (p=0.005), history of another malignancy (p=0.012), emotional (p=0.001) or physical (p\<0.001) problems, and request for psychological support (p=0.002). Conclusion: Sleep disturbances were frequent in patients assigned to radiotherapy of head-and-neck cancer. Recognizing risk factors for sleep disturbance helps identify patients requiring psychological support.}, issn = {0250-7005}, URL = {https://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/41/10/5065}, eprint = {https://ar.iiarjournals.org/content/41/10/5065.full.pdf}, journal = {Anticancer Research} }