Health-related quality of life in lung cancer patients in Serbia: correlation with socio-economic and clinical parameters

Abstract

The objective of this study was to assess health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In Serbia, there is the lack of available data on HRQoL in lung cancer patients. The special attention in our study has been paid on relationships between socio-economic factors and HRQoL. This cross-sectional study was undertaken in group of 100 NSCLC patients with advanced stage diseases. HRQoL was measured using three standard instruments: 36-item Short Form Health Survey, EORTC QLQ-C30 and its Lung Cancer module (EORTC QLQ-LC13). Unexpected, highly educated patients reported significantly worse social functioning (P=0.044), and higher degree of financial difficulties (P=0.047), in comparison with less-educated. Also unusual, unemployed patients had significantly better HRQoL in all domains and significantly lower symptom distress. Significantly better overall HRQoL (P=0.043), social (P=0.024), emotional (P=0.001) and mental functioning (P=0.011) were observed in patients treated with chemotherapy in comparison with newly diagnosed ones. In addition, the most prominent side effects of chemotherapy were nausea and vomiting, and all QoL domains correlated significantly with them. Patients who undergo active treatment improve their HRQoL but chemotherapy-induced emesis adversely affects many HRQoL domains. Additionally, HRQoL is highly dependent on patient's socio-economic characteristic.

Psychological well−being in advanced NSCLC patients in Serbia: impact of sociodemographic and clinical factors

“…One hundred and eight patients met the inclusion criteria, and eight of them refused to participate in the study. Detailed demographic and clinical characteristics of patients in our study were presented elsewhere [25]. The sample tended to be middle-age (mean age at onset of disease was 58.5±8.3 years) and majority (71%) was male.…”

Quality of life and its determinants in adult cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment in Pakistan

“…This study revealed that longer duration of post chemotherapy side effects (more than a week) impacts negatively on the QOL; these findings were also in line with the existing literature. [29303132] Several other researches indicate frequent hospitalization due to chemotherapy adverse effects. [333435] On the contrary, in the current study, although a majority of the study participants faced severe side effects for a week or more, a few hospitalizations were reported by them.…”

Quality of life among lung cancer patients undergoing treatment at a tertiary cancer institute in North India

“…13,[22][23][24][25][26] Akin S and Jiancum CA found that appetite of the patients had decreased significantly after treatment. 25,13 LC-13 scores: Various studies found that there was significant improvement in cough, dyspnoea and pain chest whereas peripheral neuropathy, sore mouth and hair loss increased significantly.…”