Background: The number of cancer survivors continues to increase due to dramatic improvements in cancer treatment, accounting for approximately 5% of the entire population. As cancer survivors continue to live longer, it is important to understand their quality of life (QoL) in order to maximize supportive care efforts.
Objectives: In this study, the quality of life (QoL) among patients with different types of cancer was examined. The objectives were to: 1) compare patient-reported outcome measures of QoL using the Short-Form (SF-36) Health Survey scores among patients of different cancer types and 2) identify demographic, oncologic, and clinical factors that are associated with SF-36 QOL scores.
Methods: We performed a retrospective review of prospectively collected data from a multi-center cancer registry data collected between January 2007 and February 2020. Multiple linear regression analysis was conducted to identify demographic and clinical factors that are associated with SF-36 Physical Component Score (PCS) and Mental Component Score (MCS).
Findings: Both mental and physical aspects of QoL were affected in all cancer patients, regardless of the type, prognosis, and time since diagnosis and treatment. Individual, socioeconomic, disease, and treatment-related variables were associated with QoL among different cancer populations and should be addressed as part of shared treatment decision-making
