Long-term health-related quality of life in patients with gastric cancer after total or distal gastrectomy: a propensity score-matched cohort study

BACKGROUND: Surgical resection remains the cornerstone of treatment for locally advanced gastric cancer (LAGC) and is accompanied by potential deterioration in patients’ health-related quality of life (HRQOL). As an important indicator of the psychosocial burden, HRQOL has become an essential endpoint to evaluate the efficacy and impact of cancer treatment. We examined longitudinal changes in HRQOL among patients with LAGC receiving total gastrectomy (TG) or distal gastrectomy (DG) over time. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The patients in this study were from a prospective observational study (NCT04408859) conducted during 2018–2022. We used the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30 and the stomach module questionnaire to evaluate HRQOL at baseline and at postoperative months 1, 3, 6, and 12. We used linear mixed models to analyze longitudinal changes in HRQOL between groups and correlations with follow-up time. RESULTS: A total of 219 patients were included. After propensity score matching, 186 patients were ultimately analyzed. Compared with the DG group, patients in the TG group reported significantly poorer global health status, physical functioning, and role functioning and more severe fatigue, insomnia, appetite loss, pain, and financial problems. Gastric-specific symptoms, dysphagia, chest and abdominal pain, reflux, restricted eating, and anxiety were more common and severe in the TG group. Most scales showed deterioration at months 1 and 3 after surgery, with gradual recovery thereafter, except the scales for global health status, pain, chest and abdominal pain, and reflux, which improved continually compared with baseline. TG was associated with worsening in at least six HRQOL domains for each measure after baseline, compared with DG. CONCLUSIONS: In contrast with DG, TG had an adverse impact on postoperative HRQOL scales in patients with LAGC. Different HRQOL scales had various recovery trajectories after surgery. Effects of the gastrectomy scope on patients’ HRQOL should be considered together with sound oncology principles.