Abstract
The therapeutical procedures for treating cancers include chemotherapy, radiotherapy or a combination of both, aiming at the cure or palliative treatment.In head and neck cancer patients, the impacts of treatment can be more severe than in other patients due to its mutilating and disfiguring characteristics, resulting in several symptoms and/ or loss of function. Among the complications, some that can be highlighted are oral problems such as mucositis, pain, hyposalivation, oral secretions, loss and change in taste, difficulty to chew and swallow (disphagia), difficulty with dentures and speech. They can appear during the course of treatment and, many of them can last for a long period, interfering with oral health, general health and quality of life ofpatients.The aim of this study is to translate, culturally adapt and validate the scale Vanderbilt Head and Neck Symptom Survey Version 2.0, which is a specific tool to assess oral health components for head and neck cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy. The study will be carried out at Barretos Cancer Hospital. It will be administerd to 60 patients in the pre-test and, during the process of validation; we intend to have an n of 300 patients. The data will be submitted to statistical analysis to check the validity and reliability of the instrument. The validity of the construct, criteria and contents will be performed using factor analysis, gold standard agreement and ceiling-floor effect respectively. Homogeneity, stability and equivalence will be analized using alfa Cronbach, test-retest and interobserver coefficient.
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