Factors Influencing Health Related Quality of Life in Cancer Patients with Bone Metastases

• DOI: 10.1089/jpm.2012.0623
• Publication Date: 2013-07-02T09:33:31Z
• Authors: Erin Wong; Edward Chow; Liying Zhang; Gillian Bedard; Kinsey Lam; Alysa Fairchild; Vassilios Vassiliou; Mohamed A. Alm El...; Reynaldo Jesus-Ga...; Aswin Kumar; Fabien Forges; Ling-Ming Tseng; Ming-Feng Hou; Wei-Chu Chie; Andrew Bottomley
• Keywords: Adult; Aged, 80 and over; Male; Analysis of Variance; Palliative Care; Prostatic Neoplasms; Social Support; Bone Neoplasms; Breast Neoplasms; Middle Aged; 3. Good health; 03 medical and health sciences; Sex Factors; 0302 clinical medicine; Neoplasms; Sickness Impact Profile; Quality of Life; Humans; Female; Spirituality; Neoplasm Metastasis; Aged; Retrospective Studies

Health related quality of life (HRQOL) is a multidimensional concept that is especially important for cancer patients with bone metastases, as maintaining and improving HRQOL is often the main focus of treatment. This study aims to determine factors that may influence HRQOL, which may in turn influence treatment and care of patients.Patients (n=396) completed the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ) Bone Metastases module (BM22) at baseline. The EORTC QLQ-BM22 consists of four scales: painful site (PS), pain characteristics (PC), functional interference (FI), and psychosocial aspect (PA) scales. EORTC QLQ-BM22 data, together with sociodemographic and medical factors were analyzed by univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA). Items of significance were determined through backward selection, which were then put through multivariate analysis to determine further significance.Through ANOVA analysis, KPS>80 and breast primary histology were predictive of better HRQOL in the PS scale, while KPS>80, female gender, and breast primary histology were predictive of better HRQOL in the PC and FI scales. KPS>80 and prostate primary histology were predictive of better HRQOL in the PA scale. KPS>80 and primary cancer site were confirmed as significant predictive factors in multivariate analysis.This study identified baseline factors of gender, performance status, and primary histology as determinants of HRQOL in patients with bone metastases. Further study focusing on current treatment (chemotherapy, bisphosphonates, and radiotherapy) and spiritual well-being may identify additional factors affecting HRQOL. Understanding the influence of these factors will allow health care professionals to provide more effective palliative care.