Quality of life in patients with brain metastases treated with a palliative course of whole-brain radiotherapy.
BACKGROUND
The primary objective of this study was to assess whether there was an improvement in quality of life for patients with brain metastases as measured 1 and 2 months after a course of whole-brain radiotherapy. The secondary objective was to assess the level of agreement between patient and proxy quality of life scores.


METHODS
Sixty patients with brain metastases and their proxy completed the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Brain (FACT-BR) questionnaire independently. Proxies were given instructions to answer from the patient's perspective. Quality-of-life assessments were conducted at baseline, 1 month, and 2 months after completion of whole-brain radiotherapy. Paired t tests with Bonferroni adjustment for multiple comparisons were calculated to detect significant differences in global quality-of-life scores. Lin's concordance correlation coefficient measured agreement between patient and proxy quality-of-life ratings.


RESULTS
No significant difference was detected in overall quality of life after whole-brain radiotherapy. At 2 months after whole-brain radiotherapy, there was a trend toward worsening general and brain specific quality-of-life scores. There was poor concordance between patients and their proxies for all quality-of-life domains at baseline.


CONCLUSIONS
At 2 months after whole-brain radiotherapy, there was a trend toward worsening general and brain specific quality-of-life scores. Proxy rating of patients' quality of life showed poor concordance at baseline.
Doyle
Megan
M
Department of Radiation Oncology, Toronto-Sunnybrook Regional Cancer Centre, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Bradley
Nicole Marie Eve
NM
Li
Kathy
K
Sinclair
Emily
E
Lam
Kelvin
K
Chan
Grace
G
Chow
Edward
E
Barnes
Elizabeth A
EA
Danjoux
Cyril
C
Tsao
May N
MN
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018931:Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D002173:Cancer Care Facilities; D003907:Dexamethasone / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017567:Karnofsky Performance Status; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010166:Palliative Care; D019727:Proxy; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D018787:Radiation Oncology / Q000379:methods*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D018931:Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal; D003907:Dexamethasone