Health-Related Quality of Life Associated Factors in Breast Cancer Patients in 2017-2018

Abstract

Background: Breast cancer (BC) is the most commonly diagnosed cancer affecting women's quality of life (QoL) in many ways. Identifying QoL-related factors in these patients can help improve their function and treatment. Objectives: This study aimed to investigate factors related to the QoL of BC patients in Khuzestan province of Iran. Methods: This descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study was conducted on 180 BC patients in Khuzestan province, Iran. The health-related QoL of patients was measured using the EORTC-QLQ-C30 and EORTC QLQ-BR23 questionnaires. In order to analyze the data and identify relevant factors in health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in BC patients, descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression were performed in SPSS version 22. The statistical significance level was 0.05. Results: The mean QoL score in the patients was 59.58 ± 20.55. Among functional dimensions, the social dimension (80.74 ± 25.85) had the highest score, and sexual pleasure (10.27 ± 20.42) had the lowest score. In the dimension of symptoms, financial difficulties (60.37 ± 31.34) and diarrhea (6.23 ± 16.28) obtained the highest and lowest scores, respectively. There was a significant difference in the mean QoL score regarding different categories of education level (P = 0.01), residence (P = 0.02), supplemental insurance (P = 0.02), employment status (P = 0.02), and duration of illness (P = 0.02). Conclusions: The results of this study can provide many implications for the clinical outcomes and HRQOL of women with BC. Healthcare systems are advised to implement appropriate interventions and healthcare services to optimize QoL-related factors and boost the HRQOL of these patients.