The Vanderbilt Head and Neck Symptom Survey Brazilian Portuguese version 2.0 (VHNSS 2.0): psychometric properties for patients with head and neck cancer who have undergone radiotherapy

Background Patients who undergo radiotherapy to treat head and neck cancer can present with several symptoms, including oral ones. The symptoms are usually assessed using instruments to evaluate quality of life. However, these instruments do not really assess oral health outcomes and their functional implications. The VHNSS 2.0 instrument was developed to be used with head and neck cancer patients, and has recently been translated and culturally adapted to be used in Brazil. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the VHNSS 2.0 Brazilian Portuguese version.