Prognostic value of quality‐of‐life scores in patients with breast cancer undergoing preoperative chemotherapy

BACKGROUND: Recently, evaluation of quality of life (QOL) has been recognized as a significant outcome measure in the treatment of several cancers. In this study, the Anti‐Cancer Drugs–Breast (ACD‐B) QOL score was used to assess disease‐specific survival in women with breast cancer undergoing preoperative chemotherapy (POC). METHODS: QOL‐ACD‐B scores were evaluated before and after POC. The cut‐off value of QOL‐ACD‐B contributing to events such as relapse or death was calculated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. RESULTS: In 300 women with breast cancer treated with POC, QOL was significantly reduced (P < 0·001). A high QOL‐ACD‐B score before POC was an independent factor in the multivariable analysis of overall survival (hazard ratio 0·26, 95 per cent c.i. 0·04 to 0·96). CONCLUSION: Evaluation by QOL‐ACD‐B before POC may be useful to predict the prognosis of patients with breast cancer undergoing POC.