Surgical complications exert a lasting effect on disease-specific health-related quality of life for patients with colorectal cancer.
BACKGROUND
For individual patients with colorectal cancer, health-related quality of life (HRQL) after treatment is a function of several factors that include preexisting medical conditions, the disease burden, and the treatment that is rendered. The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that were associated with posttreatment HRQL.


METHODS
At baseline and again at 12 months after diagnosis, patients completed the colorectal cancer-specific HRQL survey: Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT-C). Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to test the association between patient-, tumor-, and treatment-related variables and 12-month FACT-C total scores.


RESULTS
Seventy-one patients completed the FACT-C at diagnosis and subsequently underwent open surgical removal of their primary tumor; 63 patients completed the 12-month survey. In univariate analysis, only chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at diagnosis or the occurrences of perioperative complications were associated with a reduction in 12-month HRQL scores. Considering both the diagnosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and the occurrence of perioperative complications, along with the patient's FACT-C total score at diagnosis, age, tumor location, and stage of disease in a multivariate model, only the perioperative complications (odds ratio, 10.5; 95% CI, 2.1-52) and FACT-C total score at diagnosis (odds ratio, 1.04; 95% CI, 1.005-1.07) were associated significantly with a lower than median HRQL score at 12 months.


CONCLUSIONS
For patients who undergo treatment of colorectal cancer, HRQL at 1 year after diagnosis is still influenced significantly and negatively by the occurrence of surgical complications.
Anthony
Thomas
T
Department of Surgery, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, and the Veterans Affairs North Texas Health Care System, Dallas, TX 75216, USA.
Long
Joshua
J
Hynan
Linda S
LS
Sarosi
George A
GA
Nwariaku
Fiemu
F
Huth
James
J
Jones
Charlene
C
Parker
Betty J N
BJ
Rege
Robert
R
D000368:Aged; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007431:Intraoperative Complications; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011379:Prognosis; D011788:Quality of Life; D013514:Surgical Procedures, Operative / Q000009:adverse effects*