Quality of life in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.
Quality of life (QOL) has been shown to improve with chemotherapy in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but the determinants of this improvement have not been thoroughly explored. Fifty consecutive NSCLC patients starting chemotherapy with measurable disease and with an Eastern Co-operative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status of <or=2 were evaluated for change in QOL by European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC-QLQ-C30). The status of global QOL before chemotherapy influenced the degree of change in physical functioning (F = 8.71, P =.001), global QOL (F = 23.82, P <.001), and fatigue (F = 7.92, P =.001), whereas age of the patient was again linked with the change in global QOL (F = 4.68, P =.014), and type of chemotherapy administration (1st vs. 2nd line) was associated with the change in fatigue (F = 7.82, P =.001). Our findings show that patient age and baseline QOL assessed by EORTC-QLQ-C30, but not ECOG performance status, may help predict the amount of improvement in certain aspects of QOL in patients with advanced NSCLC undergoing chemotherapy. Conversely, in this cohort, patients who are likely to have deteriorating QOL on chemotherapy may benefit from closer follow-up and nursing care to optimize supportive measures.
Department of Medical Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, Akdeniz University, Antalya, Turkey. hbozcuk@akdeniz.edu.tr
Hakan
H
Bozcuk
Berna
B
Dalmis
Mustafa
M
Samur
Mustafa
M
Ozdogan
Mehmet
M
Artac
Burhan
B
Savas
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011788:Quality of Life
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents