Assessment of Quality of Life in Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients on Platinum-Based Chemotherapy Combinations

Abstract

Background Lung cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer worldwide for both sexes. There are 1.8 million new cases in 2012 (12.9% of the total), 58% of which occurred in the less developed regions. The disease remains the most common cancer in men worldwide (1.2 million, 16.7% of the total) and the most common causes of cancer deaths worldwide for both sexes, estimated to be responsible for nearly one in five (1.59 million deaths, 19.4% of the total) Aim of the Work are to evaluate the effect of platinum-based chemotherapy combinations as a first line treatment on health related quality of life (HRQOL) in advanced NSCLC Egyptian patients and to assess tumor’s response to treatment and treatment toxicity. Patients and Methods A prospective, single arm clinical study, to evaluate the effect of palliative chemotherapy on advanced NSCLC patient’s health related quality of life before starting chemotherapy and after 3 cycles of treatment, patient’s response to treatment and toxicity related to treatment. Results 61 patients completed the EORTC QLQ-C30 and the QLQ-LC13 for the evaluation of HRQoL before the 1st cycle of chemotherapy. Started with 70 patients, 9 were excluded during the study (because of a change in the chemotherapy protocol or because of treatment discontinuation during the following cycles of chemotherapy. Conclusion The present study explored self-reported quality of life in advanced NSCLC patients receiving chemotherapy, Aiming for a better understanding of how chemotherapy influences HRQoL. The importance of patient perception of their own health regarding the complexity of cancer, which is a disease that affects every dimension of life and the way in which individuals perceive the environment, the diagnosis, and the therapy. Therefore, the combination of periodic quality of life assessments and clinical practice should be more extensively.