Factors associated with quality of life in a cohort of patients with palliative advanced cancer from a developing country: Relevance of perception of cancer curability.

Authors

null

Pedro Emilio Perez-Cruz

Departamento Medicina Interna, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Santiago Centro, Chile

Pedro Emilio Perez-Cruz, Paola Langer, Cecilia Carrasco Escarate, Pilar Bonati, Bogomila Batic, Laura Tupper Satt, Marcela Gonzalez Otaiza

Organizations

Departamento Medicina Interna, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Santiago Centro, Chile, Instituto Sociología, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Macul, Chile, Programa Medicina Paliativa y Cuidados Continuos, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago Centro, Chile, Programa Medicina Paliativa y Cuidados Continuos, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile, Unidad Cuidados Paliativos, Complejo Asistencial Sótero del Río, Servicio de Salud Metropolitano Sur Oriente, Puente Alto, Chile

Research Funding

Other

Background: Improving quality of life (QOL) is a key goal in palliative care for patients with advanced cancer. Most studies about QOL in palliative care patients have been performed in the developed world. However, little is known about the factors that influence patients QOL in developing countries. The aim of this study is to describe factors associated with QOL in a cohort of patients with advanced cancer who were enrolled in the outpatient clinic public hospital in Santiago, Chile. Methods: Patients with advanced cancer admitted to the National Program of Palliative Care at a public Hospital in Santiago, Chile were prospectively enrolled in a study to assess QOL longitudinally. QOL was assessed with the EORTC-QLQ-PAL 15 questionnaire. Demographics, symptom intensity, depression and anxiety were assessed. Descriptive statistics and regression analysis were performed. Information about cancer curability and perception of personal health were also included. Results: In this preliminary report, the first 37 patients were included. Baseline characteristics were: mean patient age was 64, 21 (57%) females, 14 (38%) had GI cancer, 7 (19%) lung cancer, 4 (11%) breast cancer and 12 (22%) other. Mean (SD) QOL was 63 (34) in a 0 to 100 scale. QOL was not associated with age, gender, functionality, depression, anxiety, spiritual pain or financial distress. QOL was negatively associated with total symptom burden (coef -.53, p = .48), and positively associated with believing that cancer was curable (coef 33.3, p = .003). In a multivariate analysis, QOL was independently associated with both lower overall symptom burden (coef -.55, p = .38) and believing that cancer was curable (coef 28.6, p = .009). Conclusions: In palliative care patients with advanced cancer from a developing country, QOL was associated with lower overall symptom burden and with believing that cancer was curable. Further studies are needed to explore whether clarifying prognostic information about cancer curability in developing countries may impact patients’ QOL.

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Abstract Details

Meeting

2016 Palliative and Supportive Care in Oncology Symposium

Session Type

Poster Session

Session Title

Poster Session A

Track

Evaluation and Assessment of Patient Symptoms and Quality of Life,Integration and Delivery of Palliative Care in Cancer Care

Sub Track

Quality of life

Citation

J Clin Oncol 34, 2016 (suppl 26S; abstr 93)

DOI

10.1200/jco.2016.34.26_suppl.93

Abstract #

93

Poster Bd #

C14

Abstract Disclosures

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