Development Trajectories of Fatigue, Quality of Life, and the Ability to Work among Colorectal Cancer Patients in the First Year after Rehabilitation—First Results of the MIRANDA Study

Abstract

Cancer-related fatigue, low quality of life (QoL), and low ability to work are highly prevalent among colorectal cancer (CRC) patients after tumor surgery. We aimed to analyze their intercorrelations and trajectories in the first year after in-patient rehabilitation in the German multicenter MIRANDA cohort study. Recruitment is ongoing, and we included the first 147 CRC patients in this analysis. Participants filled out questionnaires at the beginning of in-patient rehabilitation (baseline) and at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after the baseline. The EORTC-QLQ-C30-General-Health-Status (GHS)/QoL, the FACIT-F-Fatigue Scale, and the FACIT-F-FWB-ability-to-work items were used to evaluate QoL, fatigue, and ability to work, respectively. The fatigue and QoL scales were highly correlated (r = 0.606). A moderate correlation was observed between the fatigue and ability to work scales (r = 0.487) and between the QoL and ability to work scales (r = 0.455). Compared to the baseline, a statistically significant improvement in the QoL, ability to work, and fatigue scales were observed at the 3-month follow-up (Wilcoxson signed rank test, all p < 0.0001). The three scales plateaued afterward until the 12-month follow-up. In conclusion, fatigue, QoL, and ability to work were highly interrelated, improved quickly during/after in-patient rehabilitation, and did not change much afterward in German CRC patients.

From a Clustering of Adverse Symptoms after Colorectal Cancer Therapy to Chronic Fatigue and Low Ability to Work: A Cohort Study Analysis with 3 Months of Follow-Up

“…The MIRANDA study is a multicentric, prospective cohort study with the aim to investigate risk, preventive, and prognostic factors of fatigue, QoL, ability to work, and other health-related outcomes among CRC patients during and after in-patient rehabilitation [ 20 ]. Participants are recruited in 6 rehabilitation clinics located in different regions in Germany to ensure a representative sample of the German rehabilitation setting.…”

“…FACIT-F-FWB-AW item is scored from 1 to 5, with a higher score denoting better ability to work. A low-to-moderate ability to work is defined by the response categories “Not at all” and “A little bit” to the FACIT-F-FWB-AW item (“I am able to work, including work at home”) (score ≤ 2 points) [ 20 ].…”

From a Clustering of Adverse Symptoms After Colorectal Cancer Therapy to Chronic Fatigue and Low Ability to Work: A Cohort Study Analysis With 3 Months of Follow-Up

“…FACIT-F-FWB-AW item is scored from 1 to 5, with a higher score denoting better ability to work. A low-to-moderate ability to work was defined by the response categories "Not at all" and "A little bit" to the FACIT-F-FWB-AW item ("I am able to work, including work at home") (score ≤ 2 points) [20].…”