P11.06 Health-related quality of life and emotional wellbeing connected to glioblastoma; a longitudinal follow-up of patients and relatives

Abstract

BACKGROUND Glioblastoma is the most common malignant brain tumor in adults and also the most aggressive one. At present, there is only palliative treatment available. The aim of this study is to investigate the HRQoL and emotional well-being of patients with glioblastoma by surveying them and their relatives from a time point before surgery until 2 years later. MATERIAL AND METHODS Patients and their relatives answered the validated questionnaires SF-36 and HADS at several time points: preoperatively, at 3 weeks postoperatively, at 12 weeks postoperatively, at 6 months postoperatively, at 1 year postoperatively, at 1.5 years postoperatively, and at 2 years postoperatively. At baseline, the paired patients and their relatives came to consist of 63 patients and 63 relatives. Descriptive statistics and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test were used. RESULTS Relatives scored more symptoms of anxiety than patients on all occasions except at 1.5 years postoperatively, with the largest significance preoperatively with p<0.001 and at 3 weeks postoperatively with p<0.001. 50% or more of the relatives reported the presence of symptoms of anxiety on all measured occasions. Furthermore, relatives scored worse for the SF-36 mental component summary (MCS) on all occasions except at 1.5 years postoperatively. Patients scored the SF-36 physical component summary (PCS) worse than the relatives on all measured occasions e.g., preoperatively p<0.001, at 3 weeks postoperatively p<0.001, at 12 weeks postoperatively p<0.001 and at 6 months postoperatively p<0.001. A comparison was also made between patients’ PCS and MCS with an age and gender matched population, patients scored MCS significantly worse than the general population preoperatively p<0.001 with effect size r=0.5, at 3 weeks postoperatively p<0.001with effect size r=0.5 and at 1.5 years postoperatively p=0.013 with effect size r=0.6. CONCLUSION The comparison between the HRQoL and emotional well-being of patients with glioblastoma and their relatives from presurgery to one and a half years postsurgery shows that patients on most occasions scored worse physical HRQoL and that relatives mostly scored worse mental HRQoL and emotional well-being. When comparing the patients in the present study with an age and gender matched reference population, it was found that the patients with glioblastoma scored worse HRQoL than the reference population.