The prognostic value of quality of life scores during treatment for oesophageal cancer.
BACKGROUND
Quality of life (QL) data are useful to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment. Accumulating evidence suggests that QL data may predict survival.


OBJECTIVE
In this study we investigated if baseline QL scores and changes in QL scores before and after intervention are prognostic for patients with oesophageal cancer.


METHODS
Between 1993 and 1995, 92 consecutive new patients with oesophageal cancer were studied; 89 were followed until death or the end of the study period (survival of seven patients was censored in May 1999).


METHODS
All patients completed the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) core questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) and the dysphagia scale of the oesophageal module (EORTC QLQ-OES24) before treatment and at regular intervals throughout the study. Cox's proportional hazards models assessed the impact of baseline QL variables and changes in QL scores on survival.


RESULTS
Cox's proportional hazards models, adjusting for associations between QL scores, age, and TNM stage, found that physical function at baseline was significantly associated with survival (p=0.002). An increase in physical function score of 10 points corresponded to a 12% reduction in the likelihood of death at any given time (95% confidence intervals 4--18%). Further exploratory multivariable analyses suggested that improvement in emotional function six months after treatment was significantly related to longer survival (p<0.0001).


CONCLUSIONS
These data provide evidence to support a relationship between patient rated scores of QL and survival. Further understanding of the associations between QL and clinical variables is needed.
Blazeby
J M
JM
Division of Surgery, Bristol Royal Infirmary, Bristol BS2 8HW, UK. jmblazeby@hotmail.com
Brookes
S T
ST
Alderson
D
D
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011379:Prognosis; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D016019:Survival Analysis