We studied the impact of CHOP chemotherapy on the quality of life (QoL) of elderly patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). 132 patients aged 65 or older, who participated in a randomized, multicenter trial, completed QoL questionnaires (EuroQol-5D, EORTC QLQ-C30 and MFI-20) on 8 predefined time-points before, during and following treatment. At baseline, QoL was significantly better on almost all dimensions in patients with a lower compared to patients with a higher age-adjusted International Prognostic Index (aaPI). During treatment, physical and role functioning and global QoL deteriorated and fatigue increased in the lower aaPI group, whereas QoL of the higher aaPI group remained stable. During follow-up, the QoL was significantly better for patients in complete response (CR) or partial remission (PR) than for patients with progression/relapse. Soon after completion of therapy, the QoL of the lower aaPI group returned to pretreatment levels or better, while patients with higher aaPI showed a significant improvement in QoL compared to baseline levels. The effect of CHOP on the quality of life of elderly patients could be used in counseling this group of patients.

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Our results reaffirmed that the methodology used here is a feasible option to convert data collected with a disease-specific outcome measure into preferences. We concluded that the sensitivity of the derived set of societal preferences to capture differences and changes in clinical health states is an indication of its construct validity.

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