title: Long-Term Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients With Rectal Cancer After Preoperative Short-Course and Long-Course (Chemo) Radiotherapy.
abstract: Both preoperative short-course radiotherapy (SC-PRT) and preoperative long-course chemo radiotherapy (CRT) have shown to reduce local recurrence rates after total mesorectal excision (TME), but neither resulted in improved survival. This study compared the long-term health-related quality of life (HRQL) and symptoms between CRT and SC-PRT.
  
  
  
  Patients who were preoperatively treated with a total dose of 50.0 to 50.4 Gy for locally advanced rectal cancers were identified from 2 hospital registries. Starting from 2011, all patients who were disease-free in the study population (n = 105) were sent a HRQL-questionnaire composed of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ-C30 and questions on bowel and urinary function. Patients who underwent SC-PRT in the TME trial were used as a reference group.
  
  
  
  HRQL results from 85 patients receiving CRT (81.0%), with a median follow-up time of 58 months, were compared with the results of patients who underwent SC-PRT (n = 306). Apart from more nausea and vomiting reported by patients receiving CRT (mean score for CRT 5.9 vs. 1.3 for SC-PRT; P < .01; not clinically relevant) and less satisfaction with urinary function indicated by patients who received CRT (mean score for CRT 71.2 vs. 81.2 for SC-PRT; P < .01), no significant differences were found in HRQL and symptoms between patients who received CRT and SC-PRT.
  
  
  
  This analysis of HRQL in patients who received CRT shows no clinically relevant differences in long-term HRQL and symptoms between patients who received CRT and SC-PRT, apart from less satisfaction with urinary function reported by patients who received CRT. These results indicate that both approaches have a comparable impact on long-term HRQL.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiotherapy, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands. Electronic address: l.m.wiltink@lumc.nl.
authors.forename: Lisette M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Wiltink
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiotherapy, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Remi A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Nout
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiotherapy, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands; Department of Radiotherapy, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jochem R N
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: van der Voort van Zyp
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, Radiotherapy Center West, Den Haag, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Heleen M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Ceha
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Statistics and Bioinformatics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands; Mathematical Institute, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fiocco
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Elma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Meershoek-Klein Kranenbarg
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Medical Center Haaglanden, Den Haag, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Andreas W K S
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Marinelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Cornelis J H
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: van de Velde
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiotherapy, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Corrie A M
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Marijnen
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D059248:Chemoradiotherapy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods; D013505:Digestive System Surgical Procedures; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020360:Neoadjuvant Therapy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods; D011788:Quality of Life; D011878:Radiotherapy / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000379:methods*; D012004:Rectal Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Adverse effects; Chemoradiotherapy; Health-related quality of life; Long-term follow-up; Rectal cancer