Abstract 402P
Background
Cancer survivors have been reported to face challenges as they return to work after completing antineoplastic treatment. In order to understand the burden of return-to-work challenges among cancer survivors in Singapore, we aim to describe the work-related outcomes, including employment rates, absenteeism and presenteeism, among local cancer survivors.
Methods
This was a cross-sectional study conducted at the National Cancer Centre Singapore in 2018. Breast cancer, colorectal cancer and lymphoma survivors who were in disease remission and have completed treatment for at least 6 months were recruited. Employment history and absenteeism data in the past 6 months were collected using self-administered questionnaires. Presenteeism was self-reported using the Work Limitations Questionnaire.
Results
A total of 501 patients were recruited. Most participants were Chinese (79.6%), followed by Malay (11.8%), Indian (4.6%) and other ethnicities (4.0%). Over half were breast cancer survivors (69.5%), followed by colorectal cancer (15.5%) and lymphoma (15.0%) survivors. The median age of the participants was 55.7 years (IQR: 50.1 to 60.5 years) while the median time after primary treatment completion was 3.7 years (IQR: 1.9 to 6.1 years). The majority of cancer survivors were employed with most participants reporting working full-time (47.5%), followed by part-time workers (10.2%) and self-employed individuals (5.8%). Out of the survivors who did not have paid employment, a substantial proportion (24.3%) were unemployed due to health-related reasons. Among employed participants, 56.9% reported taking time off work due to ill health or to see a physician in the past 6 months. The median absenteeism rate reported among working survivors was 0.8% of working time (range: 0 to 73.1%) while the median presenteeism or productivity loss at work due to health-related problems was reported to be 1.2% (range: 0 to 20.3%).
Conclusions
A significant proportion of cancer survivors in Singapore require time off from work or leave employment due to health-related issues. Further studies should be conducted to identify survivors who are at high risk for return-to-work challenges and should be offered occupational rehabilitation.
Clinical trial identification
Editorial acknowledgement
Legal entity responsible for the study
The authors.
Funding
Singapore Cancer Society.
Disclosure
All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.
Resources from the same session
248P - Retrospective review of metastatic carcinoma of cervix from a tertiary cancer institute of south India
Presenter: Arkoprovo Halder
Session: Poster display session
Resources:
Abstract
249P - Accuracy of endometrial biopsy by Pipelle: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Presenter: Jinhai Gou
Session: Poster display session
Resources:
Abstract
250P - Non-endometrioid endometrial cancer: Analysis of different adjuvant treatment modalities
Presenter: Gonçalo Nogueira da Costa
Session: Poster display session
Resources:
Abstract
251P - A prognostic index model for predicting long-term recurrence of uterine leiomyoma after initial myomectomy in women aged 18-44 years
Presenter: Xiu Ming
Session: Poster display session
Resources:
Abstract
252P - Uterine sarcomas in Qatar: Clinico-pathological characteristics and treatment outcome
Presenter: Ashraf Fadlelseid
Session: Poster display session
Resources:
Abstract
253P - Anti-PD-1-induced reinvigoration of tumour-infiltrating CD8+ T cells in epithelial ovarian cancer patients is correlated with T cell factor-1
Presenter: Junsik Park
Session: Poster display session
Resources:
Abstract
254P - Cyclin E1 is a shared biomarker of subsets of high grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC) and basal like breast cancer (BLBC)
Presenter: Diar Aziz
Session: Poster display session
Resources:
Abstract
255P - MEX3A is a prognostic biomarker and correlates with RNA splicing and cell proliferation in endometrial cancer by analysis of RNA-seq data
Presenter: Huining Jing
Session: Poster display session
Resources:
Abstract
256P - Lnc-AL445665.1-4 may be involved in the development of multiple uterine leiomyoma through interacting with miR-146b-5p
Presenter: E Yang
Session: Poster display session
Resources:
Abstract
257P - Treatment results of low risk gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) from a tertiary hospital, Chennai, India
Presenter: Rakesh M. P
Session: Poster display session
Resources:
Abstract