The health‐related quality of life of early‐onset colorectal cancer patients: an Australian cross‐sectional study

Abstract

AimEarly‐onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) patients are more likely to have advanced disease and undergo more aggressive treatment modalities. However, current literature investigating the health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) of EOCRC patients is scarce. This study aimed to determine the HRQoL of an Australian cohort of EOCRC patients including a subset who underwent pelvic exenteration (PE) or cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC).MethodA cross‐sectional study of EOCRC patients treated at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney Australia was performed. Patients were divided into groups based on the time interval from their index operation: ≤2 years and >2 years. HRQoL was evaluated using the SF‐36v2 questionnaire.ResultsA total of 50 patients were included. For patients ≤2 years from surgery, the median physical component summary (PCS) and mental health component summary (MCS) scores were 53.3 (36.4–58.9) and 47.3 (37.5–55.7). In the >2 years group, the median PCS and MCS scores were 50.6 (43.3–57.7) and 50.2 (39.04–56.2), respectively. Stage I (vs. stage II) disease and emergency (vs. elective) surgery conferred poorer PCS scores in patients ≤2 years from surgery. No other variables impacted PCS or MCS scores in EOCRC patients in either group.ConclusionsHRQoL of EOCRC patients was equivocal to the Australian population. Having an earlier stage of diagnosis and emergency index operation was associated with poorer levels of physical functioning in patients ≤2 years from surgery. However, because of the limitations of this study, these findings require validation in future large‐scale prospective research.