Cancer site differences in the health‐related quality of life of Korean cancer survivors: Results from a Population‐based Survey

Abstract

Objectives:We investigated cancer site differences in the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of cancer survivors. Design and Sample: A secondary data analysis was conducted using the sixth KoreaNational Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2013)(2014)(2015). Participants were 15,461 adults (664 cancer survivors) with available EuroQol-5 Dimensions (EQ5D) information.Measurements: Constructs from the revised Wilson and Cleary's model were examined. HRQOL status was measured using the EQ5D. EQ5D dimensional problems and indices were compared across cancer sites using multiple linear and quantile regression analyses. Results:The most common problems across cancer sites were pain/discomfort and mobility. There were differences in EQ5D dimensional problems by cancer site: problems of usual activities in the cervix-cancer group and anxiety/depression in the thyroid cancer group were prevalent. Those with cervix cancer (vs. stomach) had higher EQ5D index scores; however, no significant differences were observed between other site subgroups. Subjective health perception and socioeconomic factors were significant determinants affecting HRQOL among cancer survivors with low EQ5D index scores. Conclusions:Subjective health status and socioeconomic characteristics are predicted to have a greater impact on survivors with low (vs. high) HRQOL. Socioeconomic and psychological support is essential to increase cancer survivors' HRQOL, regardless of cancer site. K E Y W O R D S cancer site, cancer survivors, EQ5D, health-related quality of life | 145 RYU and HWanG development of medical technology and the Korean government's early health screening project. The 5-year survival rate of cancer patients in 2010-2014 was 70. 3%, compared with 53.9% in 2001-2005 and 65.2% in 2006 (National Cancer Center, 2016. This means that the number of cancer survivors is increasing; however, the quantitative increase in survival does not represent improved quality of patients' life. Besides the assessment of how many lives have been saved, survivors' quality of life (QOL) requires elucidation (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016).

Patient-Reported Quality-of-Life Outcome Measures in the Thyroid Cancer Population

“…However, these findings were not uniformly demonstrated across studies. The impact of TC on HRQoL varied widely; while a small number of studies demonstrated no long-lasting HRQoL detriments in TC survivors compared with the general population (41,42,44), others reported comparable or worse HRQoL to other cancer types with significantly worse prognoses (34,36,38)-a finding previously demonstrated by others (54).…”

“…Of the 28 included studies, 17 demonstrated impaired HRQoL in TC survivors compared with age-and sex-matched controls (40), the general population (21,30,34,36,43), or survivors of other types of cancer (34,36,38). Only three studies reported no decrease in HRQoL in TC survivors (41,42,44).…”

“…Two studies used SF-6D to demonstrate impaired HRQoL in young female adult survivors and patients with advanced differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC), respectively (22,26). While EQ-5D-3L was used in multiple studies to demonstrate decreased HRQoL and increased anxiety and depression in patients with TC compared with other types of cancer (34,38), the ability of SF-6D to more comprehensively capture the HRQoL effects of DTC than other preferencebased indexes has been demonstrated (22,28).…”

Factors affecting online health community participation behavior in patients with thyroid cancer

“…However, patients with thyroid cancer felt negative feelings and isolation about the fact that thyroid cancer represented as good cancer [19]. Patients with thyroid cancer experience high levels of distress and worry, despite having a good prognosis, and have more prevalent anxiety and depression than other cancers [20][21][22]. Cancer patients feel psychological pain such as anxiety and depression and seek social support [23].…”

A systematic review of health state utility values for thyroid cancer

“…Six studies (seven publications) [35,38,44,48,50,51,53] measured HRQoL using the EQ-5D-3L. In 23 studies, HRQoL was measured using either the SF-36 or the EORTC QLQ-30 and therefore mapping to the EQ-5D-3L was required (which comprised of 29 publications) [9, 18-34, 39-43, 45, 52, 54-57].…”