Quality of Life in the First Year of Follow-Up in a Randomized Multicenter Trial Assessing the Role of Imaging after Radical Surgery of Stage IIB-C and III Cutaneous Melanoma (TRIM Study)

SIMPLE SUMMARY: After surgery of high-risk melanoma, patients are usually followed up by physical examinations. Recommendations regarding imaging vary due to insufficient evidence of the benefit of regular scans. It might also be stressful for patients to undergo imaging. In an ongoing Swedish study, half of the patients are randomized to whole-body imaging in addition to physical examinations. Three imaging procedures are performed during the first year. The main aim of our study was to investigate if imaging during the first year of follow-up affected the patients’ well-being. Validated self-reporting questionnaires regarding symptoms of anxiety and depression and quality of life were answered at study start and at 1 year. Questionnaires from 204 recurrence-free patients were analyzed. No differences in either level of anxiety/depression or quality of life were found at 1 year follow-up between the imaging and non-imaging group. These findings can be considered in the formulation of future follow-up programs. ABSTRACT: The benefit of imaging in the follow-up setting for high-risk melanoma patients is uncertain, and even less is known about the impact of intensive follow-up on the patient´s quality of life. In 2017, a Swedish prospective randomized multicenter study started, in which high-risk melanoma patients are randomly assigned 1:1 to follow-up by physical examinations +/− whole-body imaging. The first-year examinations are scheduled at 0, 6 and 12 months. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the patients´ health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and levels of anxiety and depression were affected at 1 year by imaging. Anxiety/depression and HRQoL were assessed at 0 and 12 months by the questionnaires Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) scale and EORTC QLQ-C30 version 3. Expected baseline QLQ-C30 values for the patients were calculated using data from the general population. In total, 204 patients were analyzed. Mean differences in subscale scores at 1 year were not statistically significant either for HRQoL or for anxiety/depression. Baseline HRQoL did not differ from expected values in the general Swedish population. In conclusion, the patients in general coped well with the situation, and adding whole-body imaging to physical examinations did not affect the melanoma patients’ HRQoL or levels of anxiety or depression.