Changes in quality of life following initial treatment of oesophageal carcinoma: a cohort study from Sri Lanka

BACKGROUND: Oesophageal carcinoma is one of the leading cancers in Sri Lanka. Recent advances in treatment modalities have drastically improved the survival of these patients. However, the quality of life (QoL) among the survivors needs to be reviewed in order to recognise the need for advocating more focussed rehabilitation for oesophageal carcinoma in Sri Lanka. METHODS: A prospective cohort study was conducted among 51 incident cases of oesophageal carcinoma recruited consecutively from the National Cancer Institute, Maharagama. Data were collected on their QoL using EORTC QLQ-C30 and EORTC-OES18 questionnaires validated for Sri Lankan oesophageal carcinoma patients, before and one month after the completion of initial treatment. Scoring was based on the EORTC manual. Comparison of baseline and follow-up scores was done using paired t test at significance level of 0.05. RESULTS: Response rate was 80%. The majority consisted of squamous cell carcinoma of stage IV. On a scale of 0–100, the overall QoL (mean score = 49.8; SD = 22); and role (42.2; SD = 34), physical (53.1; SD = 29), emotional (53.4; SD = 26) and social (57.2; SD = 23) functioning were relatively low at diagnosis. The scores of functioning scales further deteriorated (difference > 5 points) following the initial treatment (p < 0.05). Dysphagia (mean = 54; SD = 27) was the main symptom at diagnosis, which improved significantly (p < 0.05) in contrast to dry mouth (mean = 39.2; SD = 34) that worsened (p < 0.05) following initial treatment. Family support and financial difficulties were adversely affected (p < 0.05) during the initial treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The deterioration of several dimensions of QoL of oesophageal carcinoma patients following the initial treatment highlights the need for more targeted tertiary preventive strategies that address the issues identified.