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Quality of Life of Patients Operated on for Low Rectal Cancer: Impact of the Type of Surgery and Patients’ Characteristics

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Diseases of the Colon & Rectum

PURPOSE

This study was designed to compare the impact of a permanent colostomy and sociodemographic characteristics on the quality of life of patients operated on for low rectal cancer.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was performed by use of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer QLQ-C30 and CR-38 questionnaires. Patients came to the hospital to fill out the self-administered questionnaire or were sent the questionnaire by mail, followed by a live or telephone interview. All patients had undergone one of four operations: low anterior resection with colorectal or coloanal anastomosis (non-stoma group), or abdominoperineal resection with pseudocontinent perineal colostomy (nonstoma group) or left lower quadrant colostomy (stoma group).

RESULTS

A total of 132 patients were included for analysis and there were no missing data. For the majority of quality of life scores (26/29), there was no significant difference between stoma and nonstoma patients. However, stoma patients complained of diminished body image (P = 0.0022), and this was especially true for married (P = 0.0073) and less educated (P = 0.0014) patients at subgroup analysis. Stoma patients experienced greater financial worries (P = 0.0029), whereas nonstoma patients had greater gastrointestinal concerns (P = 0.0098).

CONCLUSIONS

Although most quality of life scores between stoma and nonstoma patients were similar, significant differences regarding body image, finance, and gastrointestinal symptoms, especially for married and less educated patients, were noticed. These factors should be taken into account, along with oncologic criteria, to better tailor treatments to patients.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors thank all the patients who agreed to participate in this project—without their generosity in sharing their experience, such studies would be impossible to conduct—the staff of the Institut Gustave Roussy for their support, and the members of the EORTC for providing us with the French versions of the quality of life questionnaires.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgical Oncology, Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France

    Lucas Sideris M.D., F.R.C.S.C., Philippe Lasser M.D., Dominique Elias M.D., Ph.D. & Marc Pocard M.D., Ph.D.

  2. Department of Psycho-oncology, Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France

    Franck Zenasni Ph.D. & Sarah Dauchy M.D.

  3. Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France

    Dewi Vernerey M.Sc. & Jean-Pierre Pignon M.D., Ph.D.

  4. Department of Medical Oncology, Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France

    Mario Di Palma M.D.

Authors
  1. Lucas Sideris M.D., F.R.C.S.C.
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  2. Franck Zenasni Ph.D.
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  3. Dewi Vernerey M.Sc.
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  5. Philippe Lasser M.D.
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  6. Jean-Pierre Pignon M.D., Ph.D.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marc Pocard M.D., Ph.D..

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Sideris, L., Zenasni, F., Vernerey, D. et al. Quality of Life of Patients Operated on for Low Rectal Cancer: Impact of the Type of Surgery and Patients’ Characteristics. Dis Colon Rectum 48, 2180–2191 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10350-005-0155-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10350-005-0155-0

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