Impact of chemotherapy on health status and symptom burden of colon cancer survivors: A population-based study

Abstract

BackgroundThis population-based study assessed the impact of chemotherapy on general and disease-specific health status of resected colon cancer survivors up to 10years post-diagnosis. Patients and methodsColon cancer survivors diagnosed between 1998 and 2007 were selected from the Eindhoven Cancer Registry. Survivors completed the SF-36 and the EORTC colorectal module (EORTC-QLQ-CR38). Comparisons to a normative population were conducted. Multiple linear regression analyses investigated the association between treatment and health status. ResultsEight hundred and forty eight survivors were evaluated: 29% had chemotherapy (CT); 71% without chemotherapy (nCT). Survivors had similar SF-36 scores and scored better than the normative population on several domains. On the EORTC-QLQ-CR38, male nCT survivors had more sexual problems than CT survivors (p=0.01). Among the sexually active respondents, the survivors reported sex to be less enjoyable than the normative population (p=0.02). In multivariate analyses, CT predicted better physical function, and less male sexual dysfunction and weight loss problems than nCT. ConclusionsOverall, CT survivors have general health status scores comparable to nCT survivors and the normative population up to 10years since initial diagnosis. Sex-related problems among survivors suggest more attention on this often sensitive issue is required in clinical management.