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Analysis of factors associated with quality of life in breast cancer patients after surgery

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the factors associated with the quality of life (QOL) in breast cancer patients after surgery. The QOL in 83 primary breast cancer patients after surgery was prospectively assessed using a newly developed Japanese QOL questionnaire: The QOL Questionnaire for Cancer Patients Treated with Anticancer Drugs (QOL-ACD). The demographic and medical factors relating to the QOL score in the subjects were investigated by multiple regression analyses. Factors related to the four categories of the QOL-ACD (activity, physical condition, psychological condition, and social relationship) were also analyzed. The results revealed that only hospitalization had a strong negative relation to the overall QOL score. With regard to the four categories of the QOL-ACD, hospitalization had strong negative relations to the three categories (activity, physical condition and social relationship) and had weak negative relation to the psychological condition. Other demographic and medical factors such as types of surgery or adjuvant therapy had no significant association with the QOL score, except for the performance status which had positive, but not significant, association with the activity. In conclusion, this study yielded useful information concerning the management of the breast cancer patients after surgery. We had better be more concerned with the hospitalized period than other demographic or medical factors such as types of therapy to improve the QOL.

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Abbreviations

ADM:

Doxorubicin

CPA:

Cyclophosphamide

DFS:

Disease-free survival

DFUR:

Doxifluridine

FLIC:

Functional Living Index for Cancer

KPS:

Karnofsky Performance Status

MPA:

Medroxyprogesterone acetate

OS:

Overall survival

QOL:

Quality of life

QOL-ACD:

QOL Questionnaire for Cancer Patients Treated with Anticancer Drugs

RR:

Response rate

TAM:

Tamoxifen

UFT:

Tegafu•uracil

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Endocrine Surgery, Kawasaki Medical School, 577 Matsushima, 701-01, Kurashiki, Japan

    Kojiro Shimozuma, Hiroshi Sonoo, Junichi Kurebayashi, Kazumasa Miyake, Keiichi Yoshikawa & Kikuko Ota

  2. Department of Clinical Pathology, Kawasaki Medical School, Japan

    Kiyoshi Ichihara

Authors
  1. Kojiro Shimozuma
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  2. Hiroshi Sonoo
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  3. Kiyoshi Ichihara
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  4. Junichi Kurebayashi
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  5. Kazumasa Miyake
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  6. Keiichi Yoshikawa
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  7. Kikuko Ota
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Shimozuma, K., Sonoo, H., Ichihara, K. et al. Analysis of factors associated with quality of life in breast cancer patients after surgery. Breast Cancer 1, 123–129 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02967042

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02967042

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