Brain Tumor Res Treat.  2016 Oct;4(2):87-93. 10.14791/btrt.2016.4.2.87.

Health-Related Quality of Life in Brain Tumor Patients Treated with Surgery: Preliminary Result of a Single Institution

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Neurosurgery, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Korea. cykimmd@snubh.org
  • 2Department of Neurosurgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

Abstract

BACKGROUND
Alongside the extent of removal and patients' survival in the management of brain tumors, health-related quality of life (HRQOL) has become an important consideration. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the change of HRQOL in brain tumor patients before and after surgery and to assess the associated factors that contribute to the change of HRQOL.
METHODS
A total of 258 patients who underwent surgical treatment were enrolled in this study. The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) and the 20-item EORTC QLQ-Brain Neoplasm (QLQ-BN20) were used to assess HRQOL. Patients were asked to fill out the questionnaires before and 3-6 months after surgery.
RESULTS
Global QOL (p<0.001) and emotional function (p<0.018) were significantly improved after surgery. Physical function (p=0.015) was significantly aggravated. Among the symptoms, headache, pain and nausea and vomiting were significantly decreased (p<0.01, p=0.041, p<0.001, respectively), while dyspnea, communication deficit and weakness of the legs were increased (p=0.005, p=0.040, and p=0.014, respectively). Preoperative neurologic deficit (p=0.019) and tumor diameter (p=0.016) were significantly related to the patients who showed aggravation of global QOL after brain tumor surgery. In the aggravated global QOL group, common complaints and concerns included role function, appetite loss, financial difficulty and future uncertainty.
CONCLUSION
In brain tumor patients, HRQOL has improved after surgery. Role function, appetite loss, financial difficulty and future uncertainty were important factors for HRQOL in brain tumor patients treated with surgery. Although there is National Health Insurance and Medical Aid program in Korea, financial difficulty and future uncertainty are much more important in influencing QOL than previously thought. The results of this short-term follow up preliminary study suggest that several factors were related to HRQOL, Further research is needed to evaluate the long term change of HRQOL and enhance the global QOL by analyze related factors.

Keyword

Quality of life; Brain neoplasms; Surgery

MeSH Terms

Appetite
Brain Neoplasms*
Brain*
Dyspnea
Follow-Up Studies
Headache
Humans
Korea
Leg
National Health Programs
Nausea
Neurologic Manifestations
Quality of Life*
Uncertainty
Vomiting

Figure

  • Fig. 1 HRQOL change after surgery. *p<0.05. HRQOL, health-related quality of life.

  • Fig. 2 Global QOL change after surgery according to pathologic diagnosis. *p<0.05. QOL, quality of life.


Cited by  1 articles

Influence of Concurrent and Adjuvant Temozolomide on Health-Related Quality of Life of Patients with Grade III Gliomas: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial (KNOG-1101 Study)
Grace S. Ahn, Kihwan Hwang, Tae Min Kim, Chul Kee Park, Jong Hee Chang, Tae-Young Jung, Jin Hee Kim, Do-Hyun Nam, Se-Hyuk Kim, Heon Yoo, Yong-Kil Hong, Eun-Young Kim, Dong-Eun Lee, Jungnam Joo, Yu Jung Kim, Gheeyoung Choe, Byung Se Choi, Seok-Gu Kang, Jeong Hoon Kim, Chae-Yong Kim
Cancer Res Treat. 2022;54(2):396-405.    doi: 10.4143/crt.2021.393.


Reference

1. Larson JS. The World Health Organization’s definition of health: social versus spiritual health. Soc Indic Res. 1996; 38:181–192.
Article
2. Park HJ, Yang HK, Shin DW, et al. Cross-cultural adaptation of the korean version of the minneapolis-manchester quality of life instrument-adolescent form. J Korean Med Sci. 2013; 28:1788–1795.
Article
3. Aaronson NK, Ahmedzai S, Bergman B, et al. The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-C30: a quality-of-life instrument for use in international clinical trials in oncology. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1993; 85:365–376.
Article
4. Taphoorn MJ, Claassens L, Aaronson NK, et al. An international validation study of the EORTC brain cancer module (EORTC QLQ-BN20) for assessing health-related quality of life and symptoms in brain cancer patients. Eur J Cancer. 2010; 46:1033–1040.
Article
5. Minniti G, Scaringi C, Baldoni A, et al. Health-related quality of life in elderly patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma treated with short-course radiation therapy plus concomitant and adjuvant temozolomide. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2013; 86:285–291.
Article
6. Bosma I, Reijneveld JC, Douw L, et al. Health-related quality of life of long-term high-grade glioma survivors. Neuro Oncol. 2009; 11:51–58.
Article
7. Mainio A, Tuunanen S, Hakko H, et al. Decreased quality of life and depression as predictors for shorter survival among patients with low-grade gliomas: a follow-up from 1990 to 2003. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2006; 256:516–521.
Article
8. Khan F, Amatya B. Factors associated with long-term functional outcomes, psychological sequelae and quality of life in persons after primary brain tumour. J Neurooncol. 2013; 111:355–366.
Article
9. Mainio A, Hakko H, Niemelä A, Koivukangas J, Räsänen P. Gender difference in relation to depression and quality of life among patients with a primary brain tumor. Eur Psychiatry. 2006; 21:194–199.
Article
10. Cheng JX, Zhang X, Liu BL. Health-related quality of life in patients with high-grade glioma. Neuro Oncol. 2009; 11:41–50.
Article
11. Boele FW, Heimans JJ, Aaronson NK, et al. Health-related quality of life of significant others of patients with malignant CNS versus non-CNS tumors: a comparative study. J Neurooncol. 2013; 115:87–94.
Article
12. Tsay SL, Chang JY, Yates P, Lin KC, Liang SY. Factors influencing quality of life in patients with benign primary brain tumors: prior to and following surgery. Support Care Cancer. 2012; 20:57–64.
Article
13. Sanna M, Taibah A, Russo A, Falcioni M, Agarwal M. Perioperative complications in acoustic neuroma (vestibular schwannoma) surgery. Otol Neurotol. 2004; 25:379–386.
Article
14. Behin A, Hoang-Xuan K, Carpentier AF, Delattre JY. Primary brain tumours in adults. Lancet. 2003; 361:323–331.
Article
15. Bae SH, Park MJ, Lee MM, et al. Toxicity profile of temozolomide in the treatment of 300 malignant glioma patients in Korea. J Korean Med Sci. 2014; 29:980–984.
Article
16. Cella D. Beyond traditional outcomes: improving quality of life in patients with renal cell carcinoma. Oncologist. 2011; 16:Suppl 2. 23–31.
Article
17. Corn BW, Moughan J, Knisely JP, et al. Prospective evaluation of quality of life and neurocognitive effects in patients with multiple brain metastases receiving whole-brain radiotherapy with or without thalidomide on Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) trial 0118. Int J Radiat Oncol Biol Phys. 2008; 71:71–78.
Article
18. Soffietti R, Kocher M, Abacioglu UM, et al. A European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer phase III trial of adjuvant whole-brain radiotherapy versus observation in patients with one to three brain metastases from solid tumors after surgical resection or radiosurgery: quality-of-life results. J Clin Oncol. 2013; 31:65–72.
Article
Full Text Links
  • BTRT
Actions
Cited
CITED
export Copy
Close
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
Similar articles
Copyright © 2024 by Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors. All rights reserved.     E-mail: koreamed@kamje.or.kr