Quality of Life in Patients with Gynecological Cancers: A Web-Based Study

Abstract

Introduction: Gynecological cancers are common in adult women. One of the most important goals in the management of these patients is to improve quality of life, along with survival as a traditional outcome. The aim of this study was to evaluate quality of life in gynecological cancers in Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on a sample of patients with gynecological cancers including uterine, ovarian, cervical, and vulvovaginal attending a teaching hospital affiliated to Tehran University of Medical Sciences between 2014 and 2019. The data was collected by a web-based platform with validated self-administered questionnaires including demographic information, the EORTC QLQ-C30 and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HADS). The data were analyzed using appropriate tests. Results: In all 251 patients were studied. The mean age of patients was 52.8±12.4 years and 43% had uterine, 30% had ovarian, 25% had cervical, and 2% had vulvovaginal cancer. The mean global quality of life score as measured by the EORTC QLQ-C30 was 59.8 ± 24.9. Women with ovarian cancer had the highest and women with cervical cancer had the lowest global quality of life score. There were significant differences in emotional, cognitive and global quality of life by cancer diagnosis (p <0.05). Although not significant, overall physical, role, cognitive and social functioning was found to be better in women who had been treated with surgery. The mean anxiety and depression score were 8.7± 5.0 and 7.1 ± 5.2, respectively. Conclusion: The results demonstrated that patients with gynecological cancers had a low quality of life, and experience higher anxiety and depression.<br />