Health profiles and quality of life of 518 survivors of thyroid cancer

Schultz, Pamela N.; Stava, Charles; Vassilopoulou‐Sellin, Rena

doi:10.1002/hed.10217

Cited by 79 publications

(91 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…On analyzing 518 replies from thyroid cancer survivors from among 7000 surveys mailed to subjects who had been diagnosed with cancer, Schultz et al (2003) found that DTC survivors more frequently reported that their cancer had effected their overall health than did survivors of any other cancer type; fairly severe psychological problems, memory loss, and migraine were recorded. In our pilot study (Giusti et al, 2005) in which QoL was evaluated in 61 DTC subjects by means of a semi-structured interview, HAM-D and KSQ, we found a greater perception of illness among DTC subjects than among 64 control subjects with a history of thyroidectomy for nonmalignant thyroid pathology.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the other hand, few studies have evaluated QoL in DTC subjects on stabilized levo-thyroxine (L-T4) suppressive treatment a long time after primary therapies. Moreover, these studies have been hampered by the small number of subjects involved and of QoL questionnaires administered and by the type of control group chosen (Crevenna et al, 2003;Schultz et al, 2003;Dagan et al, 2004;Tan et al, 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Five-year longitudinal evaluation of quality of life in a cohort of patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma

Giusti

Melle

Fenocchio

et al. 2011

J. Zhejiang Univ. Sci. B

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Differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) generally has a favorable outcome. Thyroid disease, treatments, stress, and comorbidity can compromise health-related quality of life (QoL) and indirectly weigh upon the outcome. From 2004 to 2008, we evaluated QoL longitudinally in 128 DTC subjects. During scheduled examinations, subjects were asked to undergo a semi-structured psychiatric interview and five rated inventories. The same examination was conducted in 219 subjects after surgery for benign thyroid pathology. Low scores represent a better QoL. DTC and control subjects were similar in terms of age, male/female ratio, concomitant psychopharmacological treatments, and frequency of psychiatric diseases. In DTC subjects, Billewicz scale (BS) scores showed an increasing trend over time, especially among females. The ad hoc thyroid questionnaire (TQ) scores were similar in both groups and did not change over time, but at the end of the study ad hoc TQ and BS were significantly related. Ad hoc TQ scores were also related to age on entry to the study. In both male and female DTC subjects, Hamilton's tests for anxiety (HAM-A), but not for depression (HAM-D), showed an improving trend. At the end of the study, HAM-A and HAM-D scores were comparable to those of the control group. HAM-A and HAM-D were both positively correlated with the stage of cancer and the time between diagnosis and treatment. Only HAM-D correlated with age on entry to the study. Kellner symptom questionnaire (KSQ) item scores were higher in DTC subjects than in controls. The change over time in the items including anxiety, somatization, depression, and hostility was significant. Somatization and hostility were more significantly reduced in DTC females than in DTC males. Hostility scores were significantly lower in DTC subjects than in controls at the end of the study. Somatization and depression were significantly related to staging on diagnosis and age on entry to the study. Our study confirms a wide variation of illness perception in DTC subjects, which is generally unrelated to the favorable clinical follow-up of the disease. Psychological evaluation during long-term follow-up improved QoL scores, which reached the same levels noted in subjects with a history of thyroid surgery for benign thyroid pathology. Our data indicate that special attention should be paid to QoL in older DTC subjects and those with more severe staging on diagnosis.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Five-year longitudinal evaluation of quality of life in a cohort of patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma

Giusti

Melle

Fenocchio

et al. 2011

J. Zhejiang Univ. Sci. B

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“…In the past, various studies have reported a link between reduced HRQL and DTC (8,21,33,34). HRQL is now considered an important endpoint in clincial studies (35).…”

Section: Dtc-h (%)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Health-related quality of life, anxiety and depression in thyroid cancer patients under short-term hypothyroidism and TSH-suppressive levothyroxine treatment

Tagay¹,

Herpertz

Langkafel³

et al. 2005

eur j endocrinol

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Objective: Very few previous studies have compared the degree of health-related quality of life (HRQL), depression and anxiety of differentiated thyroid cancer patients (DTC) under short-term hypothyroidism and levothyroxine treatment. Methods: Using patient-completed instruments, we examined the frequency of physical complaints, HRQL, anxiety and depression in 130 DTC patients hospitalized for radioiodine therapy or wholebody diagnostics (age 52 years, female 71%) under short-term hypothyroidism (4 weeks of levothyroxine withdrawal; DTC-H) and in 100 DTC out-patients under TSH-suppressive doses of levothyroxine subsequent to radioiodine therapy (DTC-L; age 49 years, female 81%). Results: Compared with the German general population, DTC-H as well as DTC-L patients had significantly impaired HRQL. Notably, the decrease in HRQL was significantly higher in DTC-H than in DTC-L patients. Surprisingly, the prevalence of anxiety (44.6%) but not depression (17.7%) was much higher in the DTC-H patients than in the general population. In contrast to expectations, similar results for anxiety (44.0%) and depression (17.6%) were observed in the DTC-L patients. Conclusions: This mounting evidence suggests that a consistent pattern of HRQL impairment is experienced by patients with DTC. The high frequency of anxiety and the significantly reduced HRQL should be considered in the aftercare of DTC patients.

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“…Most studies on thyroid cancer survivorship in North America have reported a modest decrease in quality of life (QoL) after treatment (12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22). However, careful review of these data shows that the study populations were small, the tools were inconsistent and not tailored for thyroid cancer survivors, the sampling techniques did not take into account the varied survivor populations found in modern society, and only five small studies were conducted in the United States (12,14,16,18,19).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, careful review of these data shows that the study populations were small, the tools were inconsistent and not tailored for thyroid cancer survivors, the sampling techniques did not take into account the varied survivor populations found in modern society, and only five small studies were conducted in the United States (12,14,16,18,19). Without improved information on thyroid cancer QoL outcomes, it will not be possible to develop monitoring tools, intervention strategies, and thyroid cancer-specific survivorship care plans that are relevant to survivor needs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk Factors for Decreased Quality of Life in Thyroid Cancer Survivors: Initial Findings from the North American Thyroid Cancer Survivorship Study

Aschebrook‐Kilfoy

James

Nagar

et al. 2015

Thyroid

133

118

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Background: The prevalence of thyroid cancer survivors is rising rapidly due to the combination of an increasing incidence, high survival rates, and a young age at diagnosis. The physical and psychosocial morbidity of thyroid cancer has not been adequately described, and this study therefore sought to improve the understanding of the impact of thyroid cancer on quality of life (QoL) by conducting a large-scale survivorship study. Methods: Thyroid cancer survivors were recruited from a multicenter collaborative network of clinics, national survivorship groups, and social media. Study participants completed a validated QoL assessment tool that measures four morbidity domains: physical, psychological, social, and spiritual effects. Data were also collected on participant demographics, medical comorbidities, tumor characteristics, and treatment modalities. Results: A total of 1174 participants with thyroid cancer were recruited. Of these, 89.9% were female, with an average age of 48 years, and a mean time from diagnosis of five years. The mean overall QoL was 5.56/10, with 0 being the worst. Scores for each of the sub-domains were 5.83 for physical, 5.03 for psychological, 6.48 for social, and 5.16 for spiritual well-being. QoL scores begin to improve five years after diagnosis. Female sex, young age at diagnosis, and lower educational attainment were highly predictive of decreased QoL. Conclusion: Thyroid cancer diagnosis and treatment can result in a decreased QoL. The present findings indicate that better tools to measure and improve thyroid cancer survivor QoL are needed. The authors plan to follow-up on these findings in the near future, as enrollment and data collection are ongoing.

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Health profiles and quality of life of 518 survivors of thyroid cancer

Abstract: Thyroid cancer survivors generally report good health long term but describe distinct, lasting medical problems including symptoms of thyroid dysregulation. The extent and manner in which cancer therapy contributes to the health profile of the group merits further inquiry.

Cited by 79 publications

References 18 publications

Five-year longitudinal evaluation of quality of life in a cohort of patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma

Five-year longitudinal evaluation of quality of life in a cohort of patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma

Health-related quality of life, anxiety and depression in thyroid cancer patients under short-term hypothyroidism and TSH-suppressive levothyroxine treatment

Risk Factors for Decreased Quality of Life in Thyroid Cancer Survivors: Initial Findings from the North American Thyroid Cancer Survivorship Study

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