Nahathai Wongpakaran

Effect of cancer stage on health-related quality of life of patients with epithelial ovarian cancer

We compared the quality of life (QoL) of women with early versus advanced epithelial ovarian cancer and examined predicting factors for the poor QoL. We classified 157 participants into 108 with early disease (stage I-II) and 49 with advanced disease (stage III-IV). They completed two questionnaires: EORTC QLQ-C30 and Chiang Mai University (CMU) ovarian cancer QoL. For EORTC QLQ-C30, the study groups were comparable regarding global health status/QoL, functional scales, and summary scores. The advanced group had worse scores on symptom scales specifically appetite loss and constipation. For CMU Ovarian Cancer QoL, the advanced group had worse scores only in the gastrointestinal domain but not in urinary, lymphatic, and sexual/hormonal domains. These findings remained mostly unchanged after excluding those with recurrence. In multivariable analysis, currently receiving treatment was consistently associated with worse QoL scores. The advanced stage had more adverse impact only on the gastrointestinal domains of QoL, mainly during periods of receiving chemotherapy.IMPACT STATEMENT

Health-related quality of life for early-stage cervical cancer survivors after primary radical surgery followed by radiotherapy versus radical surgery alone

This study compared the quality of life (QoL) of 265 stage IA2-IIA cervical cancer patients treated with radical surgery alone (group 1: 137 patients) versus those who underwent primary radical surgery followed by radiotherapy (group 2: 128 patients) and identified clinical characteristics that predict the poor quality of life. All participants completed quality of life questionnaires: EORTC QLQ-C30 and CMU cervical cancer QoL. For the EORTC QLQ-C30, the study groups were comparable regarding global health status/QoL scale and summary scores. Group 1 participants had better scores on the physical functioning domain and some symptom scales/items. For the CMU Cervical Cancer QoL, group 1 participants had better scores on gastrointestinal, lymphatic, and sexual/hormonal domains. In multivariable analysis, adjuvant radiation was consistently associated with poor quality of life in most domains. In general, early-stage cervical cancer survivors had a satisfactory quality of life. The clinical significance of the quality of life score differences between the study groups remains debateable.Impact statement