Abstract
BackgroundAlthough several studies have evaluated health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in breast cancer survivors, few have compared HRQoL between breast cancer survivors and an age-matched general population in terms of improvement patterns according to time after surgery. Thus, we compared the postoperative changes in HRQoL in breast cancer survivors with those of age-matched general population groups using the EuroQoL five-dimension three-level questionnaire (EQ-5D-3 L).MethodsEQ-5D-3 L questionnaires were obtained from 686 breast cancer survivors during follow-up visits. They were divided into five groups according to time after surgery: 0–5 months, 6–11 months, 12–35 months, 36–59 months, and ≥ 60 months. Their EQ-5D-3 L data, covering five dimensions (mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression), were compared with those of age-matched general population groups.ResultsThe mean EQ-5D-3 L index of breast cancer survivors was high in group with longer time after surgery and the mean EQ-5D-3 L index of breast cancer group over 5 years after surgery was similar to that of an age-matched general population (0.919 vs 0.928, p = 0.305). Although there were deficits in all dimensions of breast cancer survivors, motility eventually exceeded that of general population groups and self-care and usual activities of groups over 3 years after surgery matched those of general population however, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression of survivors over 5 years after surgery remained worse than those of the general population (p = 0.028, p < 0.001).ConclusionsMotility, self-care, and usual activities decreased in the early postoperative period for breast cancer survivors but showed recovery after 3 years. However, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression remained poorer in these patients than in the general population for many years.
Highlights
Several studies have evaluated health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in breast cancer survivors, few have compared HRQoL between breast cancer survivors and an age-matched general population in terms of improvement patterns according to time after surgery
In our current study we investigated the time-specific HRQoL after breast cancer treatment over time using the EQ-5D-3 L and compared the results with that of a large age-matched general population group
We evaluated when the HRQoL of breast cancer survivors showed recovery and the characteristic patterns in HRQoL according to EQ-5D-3 L dimension after treatment
Summary
Several studies have evaluated health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in breast cancer survivors, few have compared HRQoL between breast cancer survivors and an age-matched general population in terms of improvement patterns according to time after surgery. Yu et al Health and Quality of Life Outcomes (2018) 16:143 patients, and even many years after treatment, breast cancer survivors can have financial difficulties and show deficits in self-reported cognition, pain, and physical and social function [2,3,4,5]. Some studies reported improvements in the HRQoL of breast cancer survivors after treatment [6,7,8,9,10,11,12] and a long-term follow-up study showed no clinically important differences between breast cancer survivors and controls in physical functioning, fatigue, social and role functioning, emotional functioning, and symptoms [12]. There have been several interpretations of the HRQoL of breast cancer survivors, which had various limitations according to method, follow-up period, study population, and comparison with control groups
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