Assessment of Quality of Life among Colorectal Cancer Survivors

Abstract

Background The concepts of quality of life and patient-centered outcomes have become popular in medical communities; however, the wide application of Quality-of-life investigations remains an obstacle for most clinicians due to the limited validation studies performed to date and the lack of disease-specific measuring instruments. Health-related quality of life has become an indispensable component of research outcomes, particularly for cancer therapy. Colorectal cancer (CRC) ranks the third in terms of incidence, but second in terms of mortality, and its incidence is steadily rising in developing nations. The burden of colorectal cancer is rapidly increasing due to the high incidence and consequences of cancer therapy. Patients who survived colorectal cancer therapies may continue to suffer from physical or psychological problems. Objective Validating a tool for Assessment of quality of life among colorectal cancer survivors using EORTC CR29 questionnaire, by assessment of construct Validity of the Egyptian version of the questionnaire. Methods This is a cross-sectional study was held in Ain Shams University Hospitals and Nasser Institute Cancer Centre for 6 months between January 2020 and July 2020 on 85 patients with colorectal cancer, received neo- adjuvant, adjuvant or palliative Therapy (Chemo or Radiotherapy), underwent palliative or radical surgery and not on treatment at time of study. Results 85 patients (62.4% males and 37.6% females) participated in the study. All patients were diagnosed with colorectal cancer. Age was ≤ 60 years among 52.9% of patients while age was > 60 years among 47.1%. after assessing the quality of life (symptoms scale) in our studied patients using EORTC QLQ-CR29 scoring Manual, mean urinary frequency during day score was 28.47± 8 out of 100, mean Urinary Frequency during night score was 31.87 ± 10 out of 100, mean Urinary incontinence score was 32.94 ± 7 out of 100, mean Dysuria score was 16 ± 5 out of 100, mean Abdominal pain score was 25.86 ± 9 out of 100, mean Buttock pain score was 39 ± 12 out of 100, mean Bloated feeling score was 34 ± 11 out of 100, mean Blood and mucus in stool score was 18 ± 7 out of 100, mean Dry mouth score was 30.8 ± 5 out of 100, mean Trouble with taste score was 19.31 ±5.7 out of 100 & mean Hair loss score was 34.8 ± 16 out of 100. We assessed Quality of life (functional scale Table 5).Mean Anxiety for health in our studied patients was 70 ± 18 while Mean Anxiety for weight was 65.8 ± 9. Mean Body image - Attractive was 63.5 ± 8, Mean Body imageSatisfaction was 60.4 ± 12. Conclusion This study shows that the Egyptian version of the EORTC QLQ- CR29 is a valid tool for measuring QOL, as determined by application to a sample of Egyptian colorectal cancer patients.