Quality of Life of Patients with Non-melanoma Skin Cancers and their First-degree Relatives in Shiraz, Southern Iran: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the world. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of life (QoL) of both patients with non-melanoma skin cancer and their relatives.Methods: This is an analytical cross-sectional study on patients with non-melanoma skin cancer and their first-degree relatives referred to dermatology clinic of Faghihi Hospital, Shiraz, Iran, 2018. Accordingly, patients and one of their companions were considered as the study group. Their responses to the questionnaires of Dermatology Life Quality Index and Family Dermatology Life Quality Index were analyzed using SPSS software, version 18. Results: The QoL of the patients enrolled in this study was relatively good. The mean of the QoL score for patients with non-melanoma skin cancer was 10.5 ± 6.2 for men and 13.2 ± 7.2 for women which showed a statistically significant difference (P = 0.027). In the patient's companion group, the mean of their QoL scores were 9.4 ± 5.6 in men and 10.9 ± 6.0 in women with no statistically significant difference (P = 0.149).In addition, the QoL in both groups were not related to the type of skin cancer, sex and family relations. Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the overall QoL of the patients and their relatives was moderate. However, a plan for improving QoLs of both groups should be considered as a part of the illness management.