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Quality of life in very elderly radiotherapy patients: a prospective pilot study using the EORTC QLQ-ELD14 module

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Abstract

Purpose

In very elderly cancer patients, health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is a particularly important issue but has rarely been studied due to a lack of specific instruments and of reference data. We performed a prospective analysis of HRQOL in patients ≥80 years undergoing radiotherapy with the newly validated elderly-specific HRQOL module EORTC QLQ-ELD14.

Methods

We prospectively assessed HRQOL in n = 50 radiotherapy patients ≥80 years (32 % lung, 20 % gastrointestinal, 8 % each of breast, head and neck, gynecologic cancer) at the start (t1), end (t2), and 6 months after (t3) radiotherapy, using EORTC QLQ-C30 and EORTC QLQ-ELD14. Overall survival was determined in the whole cohort and subgroups.

Results

Median overall survival from the start of radiotherapy was 15 months; 1-year and 2-year overall survival rates were 57.1 and 31.0 %, respectively. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status <2, Charlson comorbidity index ≤6, curative treatment intention, local tumor stage Union Internationale Contre le Cancer (UICC I, II), and total dose >45 Gy were associated with prolonged survival. No significant changes in any HRQOL domain were observed during the course of treatment (t1 to t2). Six months after radiotherapy (t3), a significant and clinically relevant deterioration of HRQOL was seen in EORTC QLQ-C30 for physical function and role function and in EORTC QLQ-ELD14 for future worries, burden of illness, and family support.

Conclusions

In radiotherapy patients ≥80 years, HRQOL was maintained until the end of radiotherapy but deteriorated in general and elderly-specific areas thereafter, suggesting a need to develop specific supportive interventions for this age group.

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Conflicts of interest

The authors declare they have no conflict of interest related to the content of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiation Oncology, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Dryanderstr. 4, 06110, Halle/Saale, Germany

    Anne Kaufmann, Christian Ostheimer, Janine Ullrich & Dirk Vordermark

  2. Department of Health and Nursing Science, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle/Saale, Germany

    Heike Schmidt & Margarete Landenberger

Authors
  1. Anne Kaufmann
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  2. Heike Schmidt
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  3. Christian Ostheimer
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  4. Janine Ullrich
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  5. Margarete Landenberger
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  6. Dirk Vordermark
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Correspondence to Dirk Vordermark.

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Kaufmann, A., Schmidt, H., Ostheimer, C. et al. Quality of life in very elderly radiotherapy patients: a prospective pilot study using the EORTC QLQ-ELD14 module. Support Care Cancer 23, 1883–1892 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-014-2546-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-014-2546-z

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