Quality of life after breast cancer: Assessment, relevance and effective interventions

Abstract

Health-related quality of life is of great relevance for breast cancer patients at all stages, both during treatment and in the medium and long term after treatment. Quality of life is becoming increasingly important as an end point in licensing studies for new treatments and in scientific studies comparing different therapies. In addition to a brief global assessment of quality of life, other important patient-reported outcomes should be assessed. Patients with breast cancer often report limitations due to fatigue, sleep problems, sexual and/or climacteric problems, cognitive problems, mental problems and loss of physical performance. Quality of life after breast cancer could probably be further increased if education, screening and treatment of these symptoms were a systematic part of oncological care.

Key words

breast cancer - quality of life - patient reported outcomes - fatigue - sexual problems

Schlüsselwörter

Fatigue - sexuelle Probleme - Schlafprobleme - Nebenwirkungen - Langzeitfolgen

Publikationsverlauf

Artikel online veröffentlicht:
26. Juni 2020

• References

• 1 Kluetz PG. et al. Focusing on Core Patient-Reported Outcomes in Cancer Clinical Trials-Response. Clin Cancer Res 2016; 22 (22) 5618
• 2 Group W. Study protocol for the World Health Organization project to develop a quality of lifeinstrument (WHOQOL). Quality of Life Research 1993; 2: 153-159
• 3 Husson O. et al The EORTC QLQ-C30 Summary Score as Prognostic Factor for Survival of Patients with Cancer in the “Real-World”: Results from the Population-Based PROFILES Registry. Oncologist 2019; Epub ahead of print
• 4 Waldmann A, Schubert D, Katalinic A. Normative data of the EORTC QLQ-C30 for the German population: a population-based survey. PLoS One 2013; 8 (09) e74149
• 5 Mierzynska J. et al. Reference values for the EORTC QLQ-C30 in early and metastatic breast cancer. Eur J Cancer 2020; 125: 69-82
• 6 Hamer J. et al. Quality of life (QOL) and symptom burden (SB) in patients with breast cancer. Support Care Cancer 2017; 25 (02) 409-419
• 7 Sousa H. et al. A systematic review of factors affecting quality of life after postmastectomy breast reconstruction in women with breast cancer. Psychooncology 2019; 28 (11) 2107-2118
• 8 Schmidt ME. et al. Determinants of physical, affective, and cognitive fatigue during breast cancer therapy and 12 months follow-up. Int J Cancer 2018; 142 (06) 1148-1157
• 9 Koch L. et al. Fear of recurrence in long-term breast cancer survivors-still an issue. Results on prevalence, determinants, and the association with quality of life and depression from the cancer survivorship--a multi-regional population-based study. Psychooncology 2014; 23 (05) 547-554
• 10 Willson ML. et al. Taxanes for adjuvant treatment of early breast cancer. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2019; 9: CD004421
• 11 Chow S. et al. Symptoms Predictive of Overall Quality of Life Using the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale in Breast Cancer Patients Receiving Radiotherapy. Clin Breast Cancer 2019; 19 (06) 405-410
• 12 Schmidt ME, Wiskemann J, Steindorf K. Quality of life, problems, and needs of disease-free breast cancer survivors 5 years after diagnosis. Qual Life Res 2018; 27(8): 2077-2086
• 13 Arndt V. et al. Quality of life in long-term and very long-term cancer survivors versus population controls in Germany. Acta Oncol 2017; 56 (02) 190-197
• 14 Hsu T. et al. Quality of life in long-term breast cancer survivors. J Clin Oncol 2013; 31 (28) 3540-3548
• 15 de Ligt KM. et al. The impact of health symptoms on health-related quality of life in early-stage breast cancer survivors. Breast Cancer Res Treat 2019; 178 (03) 703-711
• 16 Bloom JR, Petersen DM, Kang SH. Multi-dimensional quality of life among long-term (5+ years) adult cancer survivors. Psychooncology 2007; 16 (08) 691-706
• 17 Davis SR. et al. Menopausal symptoms in breast cancer survivors nearly 6 years after diagnosis. Menopause 2014; 21 (10) 1075-1081
• 18 Basch E. et al. Symptom Monitoring With Patient-Reported Outcomes During Routine Cancer Treatment: A Randomized Controlled Trial. J Clin Oncol 2016; 34 (06) 557-565
• 19 Duncan M. et al. Review of systematic reviews of non-pharmacological interventions to improve quality of life in cancer survivors. BMJ Open 2017; 7 (11) e015860
• 20 Campbell KL. et al. Exercise Guidelines for Cancer Survivors: Consensus Statement from International Multidisciplinary Roundtable. Med Sci Sports Exerc 2019; 51 (11) 2375-2390
• 21 Danhauer SC. et al. Yoga for symptom management in oncology: A review of the evidence base and future directions for research. Cancer 2019; 125 (12) 1979-1989
• 22 Matsuda A. et al. Effectiveness of psychoeducational support on quality of life in early-stage breast cancer patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Qual Life Res 2014; 23 (01) 21-30