RAMAZAN ERDEM, HAKAN ŞAT BOZCUK
Turkish Journal of Oncology - 2022;37(3):246-253
OBJECTIVE In advanced-stage lung cancer, the developments in treatment options have resulted in improved survival and quality of life (QoL) becoming parallelly important. The present study investigates whether the pre-treatment QoL domains and changes in the QoL scores could predict survival rates of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS We analyzed 50 advanced NSCLC patients. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) was assessed at baseline, on day 7 and after the second cycle of chemotherapy, using the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30). The Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression models were used for both univariate and multivariate analyses of survival. RESULTS When baseline QoL domains were considered, constipation was predictive of survival on multivariate analysis (hazard ratio [HR], 1.02; 95% confidence intervals [CI], 1.00-1.04; p=0.010). In the multivariate analysis, a relationship was observed between fatigue and survival when considering changes in QoL (HR, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.01-1.04; p?0.001). CONCLUSION Our findings indicate that baseline constipation and changes in fatigue during treatment provide useful prognostic information in advanced NSCLC patients. We can utilize these predictive factors for a patient-based treatment outcome. If necessary, interventions need to be made to improve specific components of QoL before and during the treatment course to benefit the patient’s survival.
