Long-Term Quality of Life after Pancreatic Surgery for Intraductal Papillary Mucinous Neoplasm

Introduction: Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (IPMNs) represent the most common precancerous cystic lesions of the pancreas. The aim of our study was to investigate if resection for non-invasive IPMNs alters quality of life (QoL) in a long-term follow-up. Methods: Patients (n = 50) included in the analysis were diagnosed and resected from 2010 to 2016. QoL was assessed at a median of 5.5 years after resection. At that point in time, the current QoL as well as the QoL before resection was evaluated retrospectively. The standardised European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire for Pancreatic Cancer (EORTC QLQ – PAN26) was applied for the QoL assessment. Results: After a median of 66 months postoperatively, the total QoL score significantly worsened (92.13 vs. 88.04, p = 0.020, maximum achievable score = 100) for patients (median age at surgery 68.0 years), mostly due to digestive symptoms. During the same follow-up period, median Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status did not worsen (p = 0.003). Conclusions: Long-term QoL statistically significantly worsened after pancreatic resection for IPMN. The extent of worsening, however, was small, and QoL still remained excellent. Therefore, resection in cases of IPMN is appropriate, if indicated carefully.

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Variability and Sample Size Requirements of Quality-of-Life Measures: A Randomized Study of Three Major Questionnaires

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.2005.07.141 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 23 (22) ◽

pp. 4936-4944 ◽

Cited By ~ 45

Author(s):

Yin-Bun Cheung ◽

Cynthia Goh ◽

Julian Thumboo ◽

Kei-Siong Khoo ◽

Joseph Wee

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Sample Size ◽

Effect Size ◽

Performance Status ◽

Life Questionnaire ◽

Global Quality Of Life ◽

Eortc Qlq C30 ◽

Eortc Qlq

PurposeTo compare the variability and sample size requirements of the global quality-of-life (QOL) scores of the following three major QOL instruments: the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy–General (FACT-G), Functional Living Index–Cancer (FLIC), and European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Core Quality of Life Questionnaire C30 (EORTC QLQ-C30).Patients and MethodsCancer patients were randomly assigned to answer two of the three instruments using an incomplete block design (n = 1,268). The instruments were compared in terms of coefficient of variation, effect size in detecting a difference between patients with different performance status, and correlation coefficient between scores at baseline and follow-up.ResultsThe FACT-G and FLIC had significantly smaller coefficients of variation than the EORTC QLQ-C30 (both P < .05). The FLIC also had significantly larger correlation coefficients between scores at baseline and follow-up than the EORTC QLQ-C30 (P < .05). The FACT-G and the FLIC had a larger effect size in a cross-sectional and longitudinal setting, respectively, than the EORTC QLQ-C30 in differentiating patients with different performance status (both P < .05).ConclusionIn some aspects, the FACT-G and FLIC global QOL scores had smaller variability and larger discriminative ability than the EORTC QLQ-C30. Further research using other criteria to compare the three instruments is recommended.

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