scholarly journals The Health-Related Quality of Life of Sarcoma Patients and Survivors in Germany—Cross-Sectional Results of a Nationwide Observational Study (PROSa)

Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 3590 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Eichler ◽  
Leopold Hentschel ◽  
Stephan Richter ◽  
Peter Hohenberger ◽  
Bernd Kasper ◽  
...  

Sarcomas are rare cancers with high heterogeneity in terms of type, location, and treatment. The health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of sarcoma patients has rarely been investigated and is the subject of this analysis. Adult sarcoma patients and survivors were assessed between September 2017 and February 2019 in 39 study centers in Germany using standardized, validated questionnaires (European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30)). Associated factors were analyzed exploratively using multivariable linear regressions. Among 1113 patients, clinically important limitations and symptoms were most pronounced in emotional (63%, 95% CI 60–66%), physical (60%, 95% CI 57–62%), role functioning (51%, 95% CI 48–54%), and pain (56%, 95% CI 53–59%) and fatigue (51%, 95% CI 48–54%). HRQoL differed between tumor locations with lower extremities performing the worst and sarcoma types with bone sarcoma types being most affected. Additionally, female gender, higher age, lower socioeconomic status, recurrent disease, not being in retirement, comorbidities, and being in treatment were associated with lower HRQoL. Sarcoma patients are severely restricted in their HRQoL, especially in functioning scales. The heterogeneity of sarcomas with regard to type and location is reflected in HRQoL outcomes. During treatment and follow-up, close attention has to be paid to the reintegration of the patients into daily life as well as to their physical abilities and emotional distress.

2017 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 271-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuelle da Cunha Ferreira ◽  
Maria Helena Barbosa ◽  
Helena Megumi Sonobe ◽  
Elizabeth Barichello

ABSTRACT Objective: to assess self-esteem (SE) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in ostomized patients due to colorectal cancer. Method: cross sectional research with a quantitative approach. Three instruments were used for data collection: one instrument containing sociodemographic and clinical data, Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Scale, and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire. Results: SE and HRQoL were considered satisfactory. Significant statistical difference was found in the social function domain and marital status, ostomy duration, location, and time; global health scale and ostomy type; cognitive function and pain in the ostomy site. There was a correlation between self-esteem and all the functional scales and the global health scale. Conclusion: knowing SE and HRQoL levels, in addition to the variables that influence them, supports ostomized patients' care planning, rehabilitation, and social autonomy.


2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Relvas-Silva ◽  
Rui Almeida Silva ◽  
Mário Dinis-Ribeiro

Introduction: Health-related quality of life assessment is increasingly important as it can help both clinical research and care for patients, particularly among oncological patients. Quality of Life Questionnaire – OES18 (esophageal module) and Quality of Life Questionnaire – OG25 (esophagogastric module) are the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer modules for the evaluation of quality of life in patients with esophageal and esophagogastric cancers, respectively. The aim of our study was to translate, to culturally adapt and to perform a pilot testing to create the Portuguese version of both questionnaires.Material and Methods: The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer guidelines were followed for translation, cultural adaptation and pilot testing of Quality of Life Questionnaire – OES18 (esophageal module) and Quality of Life Questionnaire – OG25 (esophagogastric module). The Quality of Life Questionnaire – OG25 (esophagogastric module) went through a process of forward (English → Portuguese) and backward (Portuguese → English) translation, by independent native speaker translators. After review, a preliminary version was created to be pilot tested among Portuguese patients. As a Brazilian version was already available for Quality of Life Questionnaire – OES18 (esophageal module), the questionnaire was simply culturally adapted and pilot tested. Both cancer and non-cancer patients were included.Results: Overall, 30 patients completed the Portuguese version of each questionnaire. Afterwards, a structured interview was conducted to find and report any problematic items. Troublesome items and wording were changed according to the pilot testing results. The final versions were sent to the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Group and approved.Conclusion: The Portuguese versions of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire – OES18 (esophageal module) and OG25 (esophagogastric module) questionnaires are useful, reliable and valid tools for measuring health-related quality of life in patients with esophageal and esophagogastric cancers, respectively. They can now be used in clinical setting and for scientific purposes.


2004 ◽  
Vol 22 (16) ◽  
pp. 3381-3388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabio Efficace ◽  
Patrick Therasse ◽  
Martine J. Piccart ◽  
Corneel Coens ◽  
Kristel Van Steen ◽  
...  

Purpose The purpose of this research was to evaluate whether baseline health-related quality of life (HRQOL) parameters are prognostic factors for survival in locally advanced breast cancer patients. Although the literature highlights the important role of HRQOL parameters in predicting survival in advanced metastatic disease, little evidence exists for earlier stages. Patients and Methods The overall sample consisted of 448 patients randomly assigned to receive cyclophosphamide, epirubicin, and fluorouracil versus epirubicin, cyclophosphamide, and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor. Patients were enrolled in 12 countries. HRQOL baseline scores were assessed using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire C30. The Cox proportional hazards regression model was used for both univariate and multivariate analyses of survival. In addition, a bootstrap resampling technique was used to assess the stability of the outcomes. Bootstrap results were then applied for model averaging purposes as a means to account for the observed model selection uncertainty. Results The final multivariate model retained inflammatory breast cancer (T4d) as the only factor predicting overall survival (OS) with a hazard ratio of 1.375 (95% CI, 1.027 to 1.840; P = .03). The presence of inflammatory breast cancer lowers the median survival time from 6.6 to 4.2 years (36% reduction). None of the preselected HRQOL variables were prognostic for OS or disease-free survival, in either the univariate or multivariate analysis. Conclusion Our findings suggest that baseline HRQOL parameters have no prognostic value in a nonmetastatic breast cancer population.


1998 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-144 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Osoba ◽  
G Rodrigues ◽  
J Myles ◽  
B Zee ◽  
J Pater

PURPOSE To determine the significance to patients of changes in health-related quality-of-life (HLQ) scores assessed by the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ-C30). PATIENTS AND METHODS A subjective significance questionnaire (SSQ), which asks patients about perceived changes in physical, emotional, and social functioning and in global quality of life (global QL) and the QLQ-C30 were completed by patients who received chemotherapy for either breast cancer or small-cell lung cancer (SCLC). In the SSQ, patients rated their perception of change since the last time they completed the QLQ-C30 using a 7-category scale that ranged from "much worse" through "no change" to "much better." For each category of change in the SSQ, the corresponding differences were calculated in QLQ-C30 mean scores and effect sizes were determined. RESULTS For patients who indicated "no change" in the SSQ, the mean change in scores in the corresponding QLQ-C30 domains was not significantly different from 0. For patients who indicated "a little" change either for better or for worse, the mean change in scores was about 5 to 10; for "moderate" change, about 10 to 20; and for "very much" change, greater than 20. Effect sizes increased in concordance with increasing changes in SSQ ratings and QLQ-C30 scores. CONCLUSION The significance of changes in QLQ-C30 scores can be interpreted in terms of small, moderate, or large changes in quality of life as reported by patients in the SSQ. The magnitude of these changes also can be used to calculate the sample sizes required to detect a specified change in clinical trials.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui Yan ◽  
Beibei Che ◽  
Binghui Lv ◽  
Peng Wu ◽  
Xinyuan Lu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Although physical activity (PA) and sedentary time in cancer survivors (CSs) were associated with health-related quality of life (HRQOL), it was not clear whether their associations were similar among CSs with different number of comorbid chronic diseases (CCDs). This study aimed to investigate the associations between PA, sedentary time and HRQOL in CSs with different number of CCDs. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1546 CSs between June and September 2018 in Shanghai, China. Data were collected with a self-reported questionnaire including sociodemographic characteristics, CCDs, PA, sedentary time and HRQOL. International Physical Activity Questionnaire and Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core30 were respectively used to measure PA and HRQOL of CSs. Associations of PA and sedentary time with HRQOL among CSs with different number of CCDs were evaluated by using logistic regression, adjusted for confounding factors. Results About seventy-five percent CSs had at least one CCD. Approximately three fifths CSs had high PA level and < 4 h/day sedentary time. Moderate PA level and high PA level were shown to be associated with better HRQOL among all participants. In CSs with ≤ 2 CCDs, high PA level was significantly associated with higher scores of physical function and lower scores of nausea and vomiting, appetite loss. However, there was a positive association between high PA level and constipation score among CSs with ≥ 3 CCDs. CSs with shorter sedentary time had better HRQOL in those with CCDs. Conclusions High PA level and long sedentary time have significant association with worse HRQOL of CSs with ≥ 3 CCDs, while high PA level is positively associated with HRQOL in CSs with ≤ 2 CCDs. Our findings may support further studies of the causal association between PA, sedentary times and HRQOL to provide targeted proposal to improve the HRQOL of CSs according to their number of CCDs.


2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. e13541-e13541
Author(s):  
Yong Liu ◽  
Liang Wang

e13541 Background: The therapeutic methods of recurrent glioma are limited. Most studies evaluating treatment effect for brain tumor mainly focused on overall survival and progression-free survival. It is increasingly recognized that the health related quality of life (HRQL) is of great value in clinical practice when choices of treatment for recurrent glioma have to be made. We retrospectively analyzed the HRQL and treatment response of patients with recurrent glioma treated by bevacizumab (BEV) plus daily temozolomide (TMZ). Methods: Twenty patients with recurrent glioma were treated with BEV (5-10mg/kg, i.v. every 2 weeks) plus daily TMZ (daily, 50 mg/m2). The treatment response was evaluated via the RANO criteria. HRQL was measured using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire core 30 (QLQ-C30) and Brain Module (QLQ-BN20). HRQL was assessed at the baseline (before salvage therapy) and after every two cycles of BEV. Results: Twenty patients totally received 85 cycles of BEV with the median number of 4 cycles (range: 2-10). There was no patient with complete response (CR), 12 patients with partial response (PR), 5 patients with stable disease (SD), and 3 patients with progressive disease (PD). Objective response rate (CR+PR) was 60.0%. The clinical benefit rate (CR+PR+SD) was 85.0%. In the functioning domains of QLQ-C30, physical functioning, cognitive functioning and emotional functioning were significantly improved after the second cycle of BEV compared to baseline. In the symptom scales, the scores of pain and nausea/vomiting were significantly decreased. Score of global health status was significantly increased. In the QLQ-BN20, motor dysfunction, weakness of legs, headache, and drowsiness after the second cycle of BEV were also significantly improved. Conclusions: BEV plus daily TMZ could improve HRQL in patients with recurrent glioma. BEV plus daily TMZ as the salvage therapy is an effective treatment for recurrent glioma.


Cancers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 3083 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ilse van Eck ◽  
Dide den Hollander ◽  
Ingrid M.E. Desar ◽  
Vicky L.M.N. Soomers ◽  
Michiel A.J. van de Sande ◽  
...  

Sarcoma patients experience physical and psychological symptoms, depending on age of onset, subtype, treatment, stage, and location of the sarcoma, which can adversely affect patients’ health-related quality of life (HRQoL). This study aimed to unravel the heterogeneity of sarcoma survivors’ HRQoL regarding primary sarcoma location. A cross-sectional study was conducted among Dutch sarcoma survivors (N = 1099) aged ≥18, diagnosed 2–10 years ago. Primary sarcoma locations were head and neck, chest, abdominal including retroperitoneal, pelvis including urogenital organs, axial skeleton, extremities (upper and lower), breast, skin and other locations. The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer—Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ)-C30 was used to measure HRQoL accompanied by treatment-specific HRQoL questions. Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics were collected from the Netherlands Cancer Registry. Axial skeleton sarcomas had the lowest functioning levels and highest symptoms compared to other locations. Skin sarcomas had the highest functioning levels and lowest symptoms on most scales. Bone sarcomas scored worse on several HRQoL domains compared to soft tissue sarcomas. High prevalence of treatment-specific HRQoL issues were found per location. In conclusion, sarcomas can present everywhere, which is reflected by different HRQoL outcomes according to primary sarcoma location. The currently used HRQoL measure lacks treatment-specific questions and is too generic to capture all sarcoma-related issues, emphasizing the necessity for a comprehensive sarcoma-specific HRQoL measurement strategy.


2004 ◽  
Vol 22 (20) ◽  
pp. 4184-4192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela J. Goodwin ◽  
Marguerite Ennis ◽  
Louise J. Bordeleau ◽  
Kathleen I. Pritchard ◽  
Maureen E. Trudeau ◽  
...  

Purpose Evidence that psychosocial status and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) are associated with breast cancer (BC) outcomes is weak and inconsistent. We examined prognostic effects of these factors in a prospective cohort study. Patients and Methods Three hundred ninety-seven women with surgically resected T1 to T3, N0/N1, M0 BC completed the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (Core 30 items), Profile of Mood States, Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale, Impact of Events Scale, Mental Adjustment to Cancer Scale, and the Courtauld Emotional Control Scale 2 months after diagnosis and 1 year later. Data on tumor-related factors, treatment, and outcomes were obtained prospectively from medical records, and Cox survival analyses were performed. Results Mean age was 52.0 ± 9.9 years. Two hundred twenty-five women had T1, 136 women had T2, 16 women had T3, and 20 women had TX tumors; 127 were N1. One hundred thirteen women received adjuvant chemotherapy, 130 received hormone therapy, 45 received both, and 109 received neither. We investigated 140 prognostic associations; four were found to be statistically significant at a P value of ≤ .05 (three fewer than expected by chance). Two were in the hypothesized direction of effect, and two were in the opposite direction. All arose from measurements 1 year after diagnosis, which were most susceptible to confounding by treatment. There was no evidence of consistency of associations across outcomes or questionnaires. These results are in keeping with chance as the explanation for our statistically significant findings. Conclusion HRQOL and psychosocial status at diagnosis and 1 year later are not associated with medical outcome in women with early-stage BC.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-31
Author(s):  
Shiva Ram Khatiwoda ◽  
Raja Ram Dhungana ◽  
Vishnu Prasad Sapkota ◽  
Sarswoti Singh

Background: Information on health-related quality of life of the patients enables healthcare providers to understand patients’ concerns and guides to introduce appropriate treatment care. This study assessed the health-related quality of life of the cancer patients attending a tertiary hospital in Nepal.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 294 cancer patients receiving treatment service from Bhaktapur Cancer Hospital between November 2016 and February 2017. We used the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer, Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30 to record the scores in different domains of health-related quality of life. The scores were compared across different socio-economic characteristics using non-parametric tests. Results: Majority of the participants were female (57.5%), of age 50 years and above (64.7%) and had either lung or breast or cervical cancer (49.32%). Participants’ median scores of the global health status (overall health) and quality of life, functionality, and symptoms were 83.3, 52.7 and 31.9 respectively. Among functionality, lower mean scores were of role (45.40) and social (53.17) functioning. Among symptoms and single items, higher mean scores were of appetite loss (49.88), fatigue (46.67), insomnia (43.99), and financial difficulty (68.02). The overall health and quality of life varied significantly with different characteristics of the participants.Conclusions: Participants reported a higher score of overall health and quality of life that reflects subjective satisfactory condition. Improving respective functionality and relieving symptoms and difficulty could enhance health-related quality of life in respective domains.Keywords: Cancer; EORTC QLQ-C30; health-related quality of life


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