CN102 - Health-related quality of life of Brazilian cancer patients with an indication for chemotherapy and associated factors

Background

Individuals diagnosed with cancer may experience a burden on their physical and mental health. Thus, Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) becomes an important parameter for assessing the health of these patients. The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics and identify the factors associated with the HRQoL of cancer patients indicated for chemotherapy treatment.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted with adult patients diagnosed with stage I, II, or III cancer who were indicated for outpatient chemotherapy treatment at a referral hospital for cancer treatment in Brazil. Data regarding sociodemographic information and tumor characterization were obtained through a questionnaire formulated by the authors and HRQoL data were assessed using the EQ-5D3L. Descriptive analyses and bivariate analyses were performed using Fisher's Exact Test to investigate the associations between the variables and the HRQoL outcome variable.

Results

A total of 84 patients were investigated, with a mean age of 57.68 years. The majority were women (72.62%), brown (40.48%), with primary education (48.81%), and married (51.19%). The average time from diagnosis to the start of treatment was 120 days. More than half of the sample had comorbidities (60.71%). The most common malignant neoplasm was breast cancer (57.14%), at clinical stage II (57.14%). The mean final EQ-5D3L score was 77.79. There was a statistically significant association between the variables "having comorbidities" and gender with domains 1 and 5 of the EQ-5D3L, indicating that impaired mobility was associated with the presence of patient's comorbidities (p=0.009), while females experienced more symptoms of anxiety and depression than males (p=0.005). Additionally, the majority of the sample had both low NLR and LPR, 76.54% and 72.84% respectively, and increased CRP levels (84.52%).

Conclusions

The deteriorating health of patients undergoing chemotherapy highlights the need for validated tools that assess HRQoL, allowing for early identification of problems and personalized interventions promptly.

Clinical trial identification

Editorial acknowledgement

Legal entity responsible for the study

L.C. Lopes-Júnior.

Funding

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa e Inovação do Espírito Santo (FAPES).

Disclosure

All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.