QUALITY OF LIFE, ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION IN PATIENTS WITH ADVANCED CERVICAL CANCER

Abstract

Objective: evaluate the quality of life (QOL), anxiety and depression scores of patients with cervical cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by chemoradiotherapy. Methods: prospective cohort study of patients with advanced uterine cervix cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy followed by radiochemotherapy at a teaching hospital in northeastern Brazil between November 2013 and January 2017. Quality of life was evaluated at four time-points: pre-treatment, after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, after radiotherapy and three months after the end of treatment using Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Cervix (FACT-Cx). Anxiety and depression, we used the Hospital scale of Anxiety and Depression. Results: We studied 40 women, aged 24 to 67 years with an average age of 48 ±11.4 years who had between zero and nine children (mean =3). Most were single (57.5%), illiterate and with elementary school education (85.0%). At the 1st and 4th evaluation, the mean anxiety scores were 7 ±3.5 and 5.5 ±3.6, respectively, and the mean depression scores were 4.4 ±3.2 and 3.7 ±2.6, respectively, with significant variation between the depression scores. The mean FACT-Cx scores at pretreatment were 112.3 ±17.4. At the last evaluation, the mean was 116.3 ±27.6 with a range from 52 to 155, with no significant difference. Conclusion: QOL scores remained stable throughout the treatment. There was a significant variation between the means and proportions of depression, possibly the result of the psychological support offered, demonstrating the importance of follow-up during oncologic treatment, mitigating the impacts of the disease and its treatment. There was no significant difference in anxiety.