Quality of life in rectal cancer patients after radical surgery: a survey of Chinese patients

• Published in: World journal of surgical oncology 2014-05, Vol.12 (1), p.161-161, Article 161
• Main Authors: Li, Xinxin, Song, Xinming, Chen, Zhihui, Li, Mingzhe, Lu, Lifeng, Xu, Ying, Zhan, Wenhua, He, Yulong, Xu, Kaiwu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cancer; Care and treatment; China; Colorectal cancer; Comorbidity; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Health Status; Health Surveys; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Mortality; Neoplasm Staging; Prognosis; Quality of Life; Rectal Neoplasms - pathology; Rectal Neoplasms - surgery; Studies; Surveys; Surveys and Questionnaires
• ISSN: 1477-7819; 1477-7819
• DOI: 10.1186/1477-7819-12-161

We aimed to investigate the impact of sociodemographic and clinical characteristics on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in disease-free survivors after radical surgery for rectal cancer in a Chinese mainland population. We performed a cross-sectional survey from August 2002 to February 2011 by use of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ-C30 and QLQ-CR38 questionnaires of 438 patients who underwent curative surgery for rectal cancer. Patients who were followed up for a minimum of 6 months, had no relevant major comorbidities and whose disease had not recurred were asked to complete both questionnaires. The impact of sociodemographic and clinical characteristics on HRQoL were compared by univariate and multivariate regression analyses. In total, 285 patients responded to the survey (response rate, 65.1%). Psychological-related HRQoL variables such as emotional function (P = 0.021) and future perspectives (P = 0.044) were poorer for younger patients than for older patients; and physiological-related HRQoL was reflected by physical function (P = 0.039), which was poorer for older patients than for younger patients. In terms of physiologic function and symptoms concerning HRQoL, such as pain (P = 0.002) and insomnia (P = 0.018), females had lower values than males. Low education and unemployment were associated with a worse HRQoL. HRQoL was worse for patients with stomas compared to those without, especially in psychosocial areas such as role function (P = 0.025), social function (P