Abstract
Aim
The aim of this study is to describe and analyse patient reported HRQoL one year after the diagnosis of oesophageal and junctional carcinoma in an unselected cohort comprising both palliative and curative intent patients.
Background & Methods
Short and long-term health-related quality of life (HRQoL) has been extensively described in operated oesophageal cancer patients in several population-based studies. However, the knowledge of HRQoL in patients with palliative intent management is not well described, and further, documentation of HRQoL in curative intent patients treated with definitive chemoradiotherapy is also quite scarce. A nation-wide population-based cohort, of patients diagnosed between 2009 and 2016 collected in the Swedish National Registry for Esophageal and Gastric Cancer (NREV) with prospectively registered exposure data and Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) outcome data. Validated instruments from the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-C30 and QLQ-OG25 were used, and data was analysed with means and adjusted mean differences.
Results
In patients alive one year after diagnosis, 1,156 responded to the HRQOL questionnaires and were included in the analyses. Both curative and palliative intent patients reported severe symptoms of problems in oesophageal specific domains. In the comparison between the curative and palliative intent groups, more prominent symptoms among palliative patients were detected regarding dysphagia (MD 11; 95% ci: 7-15) and anxiety (MD 10; 95% ci: 6 -15). Levels of anxiety were reported with high levels in all groups analysed and problems with dysphagia was also more common in patients treated with definitive chemoradiotherapy compared with surgically treated patients (MD 11; 95% ci: 4 -18) diagnosed in locally advanced disease stages.
Conclusion
One year after diagnosis high levels of anxiety were reported in all subgroups of oesophageal and junctional cancer patients, and problems with dysphagia are a major problem in the palliative intent subcohort and in patients treated with definitive chemoradiotherapy.
Health-related quality of life improves during one year of medical and surgical treatment in a European population-based inception cohort of patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease — An ECCO-EpiCom study☆
