Health-related quality of life and its predictors among patients with breast cancer at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is the second most prevalent malignancy in Ethiopia and severely affects patients’ health-related quality of life (HRQOL). We aimed to assess HRQoL, factors influencing HRQoL, and utilities among breast cancer patients at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. METHODS: A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital from December 2017 to February, 2018. A total of 404 breast cancer patients were interviewed using the validated Amharic version of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer module (EORTC QLQ-C30), EORTC QLQ-BR23, and Euro Quality of Life Group’s 5-Domain Questionnaires 5 Levels (EQ-5D-5 L) instruments. Mean scores and mean differences of EORTC- QLQ-C30 and EORTC- QLQ-BR23 were calculated. One-way ANOVA test was employed to determine the significance of mean differences among dependent and independent variables while stepwise multivariate logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with the global quality of life (GQOL). Coefficients and level specific utility values obtained from a hybrid regression model for the Ethiopian population were used to compute utility values of each health state. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 23. RESULTS: The mean age of patients was 43.94 ± 11.72 years. The mean score for GQoL and visual analog scale was 59.32 ± 22.94 and 69.94 ± 20.36, respectively while the mean utility score was 0.8 ± 0.25. Predictors of GQoL were stage of cancer (AOR = 7.94; 95% CI: 1.83–34.54), cognitive functioning (AOR = 2.38; 95% CI: 1.32–4.31), pain (AOR = 7.99; 95% CI: 4.62–13.83), financial difficulties (AOR = 2.60; 95% CI: 1.56–4.35), and future perspective (AOR = 2.08; 95% CI: 1.24–3.49). CONCLUSIONS: The overall GQoL of breast cancer patients was moderate. Targeted approaches to improve patients’ HRQoL should consider stage of cancer, cognitive functioning, pain, financial status and worries about the patient’s future health. This study also provides estimates of EQ-5D utility scores that can be used in economic evaluations.