Impact of anticancer therapy on the quality of life of Sudanese patients with breast cancer at Khartoum oncology hospital

Abstract

Background: Cancer treatment-related side effects affect quality of life (QOL) of patients. QOL has increasingly become a primary outcome measure for treatment efficacy. This study aimed to assess the impact of various anticancer therapies on QOL of Sudanese patients with breast cancer. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Khartoum Oncology Hospital, Sudan, from November 2020 to March 2021. All patients diagnosed with breast cancer were included in the study. QOL was assessed using European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer quality of life (EORTC QLQ-C-30) and breast cancer supplementary module (QLQ-BR23). ANOVA, independent t-test and logistic regression analysis were used to assess the association between variables. Results: 200 patients were enrolled in the study, with a mean age of 50±11.7 years. 52.5% of the patients were on a conventional therapy whereas 40.5% and 7% received hormonal and HER2-targeted therapies, respectively. In QLQ-C30 scale, the global health status score was (53. 2±1.9), with 54.0% of patients having poor global health status. In the functional scale, the cognitive functioning was the highest score (80.7±1.8). In QLQ-C30 symptom scale, the most distressing issue was financial difficulties (63.7±2.9). In QLQ-BR23scale, body image (47.7±2.7) scored the worse functioning, with 58.5% of patients having poor QOL. In QLQ-BR23 symptoms scale, "being upset by hair loss" was the highest disturbing symptom (62.1±3.3), with 68.5% of patients having poor QOL. Global health status (P=0.000), social (P=0.000), emotional (P=0.002) and role functioning (P=0.000) were significantly higher in patients taking HER2-targeted or hormonal therapy compared with conventional therapy. The level of symptomatology was significantly low in patients taking HER2-targeted therapy or hormonal therapy (P=0.000) when compared with conventional therapy. Hormonal (OR=3.88, p=0.005) and HER2-targeted therapies (OR=10.8, p=0.032) were positive predictors of QOL.Conclusion: Breast cancer survivors in Sudan had a low QOL/global health status. Hormonal and HER2-targeted therapies were predictors of good QOL.