Some cancer survivors reported poor health-related quality of life years after diagnosis
2012-10-30
(Press-News.org) PHILADELPHIA — Survivors of many common cancers enjoy a mental and physical health-related quality of life equal to that of adults who have not had cancer, but survivors of other cancers are in poorer health, according to results published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
"We did not have a good sense of how cancer survivors across the United States were faring after their cancer diagnosis and immediate treatment," said Kathryn E. Weaver, Ph.D., M.P.H., assistant professor at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C. "We set out to address this issue by estimating the number and percent of cancer survivors in the United States with poor physical and mental health and compared them to adults who have never had a cancer diagnosis."
Weaver and colleagues from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) analyzed data from the 2010 National Health Interview Survey, a large survey conducted by the CDC to track trends in illness and disability in the United States. They identified a cohort of 1,822 cancer survivors and compared them with 24,804 adults with no history of cancer.
Patient-reported, health-related quality of life was assessed using the 10-item Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Global Health Scale (PROMIS Global 10). This tool allows researchers to measure, from the patient perspective, health outcomes like physical functioning, depression, pain and fatigue.
After adjusting for gender, race/ethnicity, education and other medical conditions, it was found that the most recent form of cancer a patient was diagnosed with was significantly related to health-related quality of life. Survivors of breast cancer, prostate cancer and melanoma had a health-related quality of life equivalent to or better than adults with no cancer history.
In contrast, survivors of cervical, blood and colorectal cancers, as well as survivors of cancers with a five-year survival rate of less than 25 percent (such as cancers of the liver, lung and pancreas), had worse physical health-related quality of life. In addition, survivors of cervical cancer and cancers with a low five-year survival rate had worse mental health-related quality of life.
Twenty-five percent and 10 percent of cancer survivors in the analytic sample had lower than normal physical and mental health-related quality of life, respectively. Weaver and colleagues, therefore, estimated that 3.3 million cancer survivors in the United States have below-average physical health-related quality of life and almost 1.4 million have below-average mental health-related quality of life.
"It is very concerning that there are a substantial number of cancer survivors who experience poor mental or physical health years after cancer," said Weaver. "Our results will serve as a baseline so that in five to 10 years, we can assess whether current approaches to improving the health and well-being of cancer survivors are having a positive effect.
"I also hope our data will draw attention to the ongoing needs of cancer survivors — particularly those with cervical, blood and less common cancers — and to the importance of monitoring these individuals, even long after their cancer diagnosis."
### The study was funded by the NCI.
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About the American Association for Cancer Research
Founded in 1907, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the world's first and largest professional organization dedicated to advancing cancer research and its mission to prevent and cure cancer. AACR membership includes more than 34,000 laboratory, translational and clinical researchers; population scientists; other health care professionals; and cancer advocates residing in more than 90 countries. The AACR marshals the full spectrum of expertise of the cancer community to accelerate progress in the prevention, biology, diagnosis and treatment of cancer by annually convening more than 20 conferences and educational workshops, the largest of which is the AACR Annual Meeting with more than 17,000 attendees. In addition, the AACR publishes seven peer-reviewed scientific journals and a magazine for cancer survivors, patients and their caregivers. The AACR funds meritorious research directly as well as in cooperation with numerous cancer organizations. As the scientific partner of Stand Up To Cancer, the AACR provides expert peer review, grants administration and scientific oversight of team science and individual grants in cancer research that have the potential for near-term patient benefit. The AACR actively communicates with legislators and policymakers about the value of cancer research and related biomedical science in saving lives from cancer.
For more information about the AACR, visit www.AACR.org.
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[Press-News.org] Some cancer survivors reported poor health-related quality of life years after diagnosis
