Abstract
PurposeThis study compared the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of breast cancer (BC) patients, survivors, and age-matched women from the general population in Vietnam to address the paucity of HRQoL research and contribute to the robust assessment of BC screening and care in Vietnam.MethodsThe standardised EQ-5D-5L instrument was incorporated in an online survey and a hospital-based face-to-face survey, and together with data from the Vietnam EQ-5D-5L norms study. χ2 tests assessed EQ-5D health profile associations and a Tobit regression model investigated the association between overall health status (EQ-VAS/utility scores) and sociodemographic and clinical characteristics.ResultsA total of 309 participants (107 patients undergoing treatment and 202 survivors who had completed treatment) provided usable responses. The dimensions that affected mostly the HRQoL of women with BC were pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression. Current patients and survivors differed significantly regarding HRQoL dimensions of mobility, self-care, usual activities, and anxiety/depression. Their health utilities were 0.74 and 0.84, respectively, compared with 0.91 for age-matched Vietnamese women in the general population (p < 0.001). Treatment status (survivor vs patient), younger age, higher monthly household income, and higher education levels were associated with higher health utility.ConclusionsThe results point to unmet needs in mental health support and well-being and for attention to be given to the development of a biopsychosocial system of cancer diagnosis, treatment, and care. The results will also inform future assessments of the comparative value for money of interventions intended to impact on breast cancer in Vietnam.
Highlights
Breast cancer (BC) is the most common cancer among Vietnamese women [1]
They were not involved in the questionnaire development as the EQ-5D-5L is a standard instrument and its license forbids any changes though they were asked to assess the sensitivity of the questions and whether the time required to answer the questionnaire may cause any burden to the patients during their treatment
There were no significant differences in terms of age, marital status, and occupation between BC patients and survivors
Summary
In 2018, the estimated age-standardized incidence rate for breast cancer in Vietnam was 26.4/100000 which accounted for 20.6% of all new cancer cases in women [1]. This rate is likely to be an underestimate due to the quality and coverage of data from cancer registries [2]. The five-year survival rate of BC patients treated at National Cancer Hospital and Hue Central Hospital was 86.4 and 74%, respectively [5, 6]. The need for patient-reported outcomes (PROMs) such as health-related quality of life (HRQoL) is clear, especially to inform cost-effectiveness analyses
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