Determinants of health-related quality of life in colon cancer patients include stoma and smoking habits, but not type of surgery

Abstract

Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) has gained increased attention in cancer care. Studies have shown that poor QoL might worsen the cancer related prognosis. The aim of this study was to investigate HRQoL in patients with colon cancer and to compare data with reference values from the general population in Sweden at diagnosis (baseline) and at six months of follow-up. Methods : This was a prospective population-based study of colon cancer patients from Västmanland County, Sweden, included between March 2012 and September 2016. HRQoL was measured using the cancer-specific EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire. Data on HRQoL was compared with Swedish population reference values. Multiple linear regression analysis adjusted for age, sex, body mass index (BMI), American Society of Anaesthesiology (ASA) physical status classification, emergency/elective surgery, and resection with/without a stoma and tumour stage (TNM), was used. Results : A total of 67% (376/561) of all incident colon cancer patients (196 [52.1%] females) were included. Mean (range) age was 73 (30-96) years. The univariate analysis showed that patients with colon cancer had worse QoL (8/15 parameters) compared with a Swedish reference population both at baseline and at 6 months follow-up. Furthermore, linear regression analysis showed that patients with more comorbidity (ASA 3 and 4), smokers and patients planned to be operated on with a stoma, were at higher risks for poor QoL than the other included patients. Conclusions : The reported determinants of HRQoL may be used to identify risk groups and enable individualized care for patients that need more support from health care.