Comparative study of the quality of life of cancer survivors v5
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Living with and beyond cancer: a comparative study of the quality of life of cancer survivors participating in clinical trials in Cornwall
IRAS ID
248219
Contact name
Laura Royle
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Plymouth
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 3 months, 6 days
Research summary
Summary of Research
A lot of the strategy for the future of long term cancer care hinges on a better understanding of the current cancer population; this is critical to improving outcomes and financial planning. There is a call for service developers to have a better understanding of the local cancer population to enable evidence-based discussions around the redesign of cancer pathways and tailored patient care. A comparison of the outcomes for survivors delivered by different providers of cancer is also required to assess variation across board. If a better understanding of the current picture can be gathered then healthcare professionals are in a better position to more accurately predict likely outcomes for patients and provide support and advice more appropriate to the individual. The use of PROMS to gather such information will help to focus on what really matters to the individual.Aims and objectives.
• To meet government priorities for cancer patients by
- gaining an understanding of the current quality of life for cancer survivors to help plan support for the future, and
- enabling forward financial planning for support services for cancer survivors.
• To build a picture of cancer survivorship in Cornwall by
- gathering quality of life information for those living with and beyond breast, prostate, lung and colorectal cancer in Cornwall, and
- exploring whether any patient demographics such as age, location or ethnicity has any bearing on the quality of life measures.The project will use well established quality of life questionnaires to gather information on the cancer survivor population in Cornwall.
Participants will be 18 years of age and above.
Summary of Results
: A better understanding of the current cancer population and their needs is required to ensure that those living with and beyond cancer get the care and support they need to lead as healthy and active a life as possible, for as long as possible. Gathering information on the quality of life for cancer patients is critical to improving outcomes and financial planning. Patients participating in clinical trials are usually well versed in the completion of quality of life or patient reported outcomes measures (PROMS). The use of these measures to gather such information helps to focus on what really matters to the individual. This study used the well-established EQ-5D-5L and the SDI-21 to gather information on quality of life for trial patients with breast, prostate, lung or colorectal cancer. These were used in conjunction with a short questionnaire to gain demographical information for comparison. A total of 64 responses were received, 16 from people with breast cancer, 22 from people with prostate cancer, 15 from people with lung cancer and 11 from people with colorectal cancer.
Overall, the patients scored their health on the day of response as fairly high with a mean of 74/100. Breast cancer patients scored themselves the highest with colorectal following, then prostate and finally lung cancer patients.
The significant results from the analysis of the research show some inequalities in quality of life outcomes dependent on the person’s cancer diagnosis. Patients with lung cancer have greater levels of difficulties among many of the measures, including: anxiety or depression, independence, domestic chores, planning for the future, isolation, getting around and recreational activities.
In a comparison with national results more people form this study had problems across all items in the EQ-5D-5L. Across the five dimensions 64.1% of people were experiencing pain or discomfort, 51.6% were having difficulties undertaking their usual activities, 45.3% had difficulties with mobility, 45.3% suffered from anxiety or depression and 28.1% experienced difficulties with self-care. However, the participants in this study were more physically active with one third undertaking the recommended levels of physical activity compared to one fifth nationally. Further research should involve a larger sample featuring both trial and non-trial patients and a control arm to highlight any areas that are specific to cancer patients.REC name
South East Scotland REC 01
REC reference
18/SS/0096
Date of REC Opinion
18 Jul 2018
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion