Pretreatment neurocognitive function and self‐reported symptoms in patients with newly diagnosed head and neck cancer compared with noncancer cohort

BACKGROUND: Newly diagnosed patients with head and neck cancer may be at risk for impaired neurocognitive function (NCF) due to disease, treatment, and lifestyle factors. METHODS: Eighty pretreatment patients with head and neck cancer and 40 control patients without cancer completed assessment of NCF and self-reported cognition, fatigue, and mood. Blood samples to evaluate organ reserves, hormones, and cytokines were collected.