Health-related quality of life of cancer patients with an indication for chemotherapy and associated factors: a cross-sectional study

Keywords

quality of life - Neoplasms - chemotherapy - psycho-oncology

Introduction: 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.

Objective: 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.

Corresponding author: Luís Carlos Lopes-Júnior (e-mail: [e-mail]).

 

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No conflict of interest has been declared by the author(s).

Publication History

Article published online:
06 May 2025