The Influence Of Chemotherapy On Quality Of Life Of Patients After Surgery With Colorectal Carcinoma

Purpose:To evaluate the impact of chemotherapy on quality of life (QOL) of patients after surgery with colorectal carcinoma and compare QOL of patients with colorectal carcinoma treated with different chemotherapy.Methods:Eighteen patients diagnosed as colorectal carcinoma were prospectively included in division of surgical oncology in the 2nd affiliated hospital of Zhejiang University between May 2010 and March 2011. Different chemotherapy (mFOLFOX6 or XELOX) were carried out in different patients. QOL was assessed with the global EORTC QLQ-C30 and the cancer-specific EORTC QLQ-CR29 questionnaires. Bilateral paired t test is used to compare the quality of life before and after chemotherapy. Other data was analyzed with two independent samples t test bilaterally. Significance level is p＜0.05.Results:Thirteen patients with perfect fellow-up were analyzed. Eight of them were treated with mFOLFOX6 regimen, while 5 of them were treated with XELOX regimen. There was no significant difference of QOL scores between the beginning and the end of the chemotherapy, whereas significant changes were detected on the items including Physical function, Cognitive function, Fatigue, Nausea and vomiting, Dyspnea, Appetite loss, Constipation, Trouble with Taste and Impotence, with the p-value as ＜0.001,0.030,0.010,＜0.001,0.043,＜0.001,0.002,0.007 and 0.002, respectively. There was no significant difference of QOL score of patients treated with different chemotherapy, but in scales of Global quality of life (p＜0.05) and Faecal incontinence (p＜0.05) before chemotherapy. After the first cycle of chemotherapy, the QOL scores of patients treated with two different types of chemotherapy showed no different, except that of emotional function (p=0.022), Social function (p=0.007), Global quality of life (p=0.005), Sleep disturbance (p=0.01), Dry Mouth (p=0.043) and Hair loss (p=0.026). The QOL scores of patients after the 3rd cycle of mFOLFOX6 and the 2nd cycle of XELOX therapy showed no differences, except thatof Global quality of life (p=0.015), Dyspnea (p=0.031), Abdominal pain (p=0.049), Bloated Feeling (p=0.020), and Hair loss (p=0.007). There was no difference of QOL scores between the 6th cycle of mFOLFOXb and the 4th cycle of XELOX, except that of Social function (p=0.013), Global quality of life (p=0.002), Appetite loss (p=0.005), Financial impact (p=0.013), and Hair loss (p=0.007). However, the QOL scores of patients treated with the 9th cycle of mFOLFOX6 and the 6th cycle of XELOX showed no differences, but in Emotional function (p=0.036), Cognitive function (p=0.039),Global quality of life (p=0.002), Financial impact (p=0.018), Anxiety (p=0.046), Weight (p=0.018) and Hair loss (p=0.017).Conclusions:There is significant influence on quality of life (QOL) of chemotherapy in patients with colorectal carcinoma in many scales. Compared with the XELOX regimen, the mFOLFOX6 regimen has significant difference in many scales, and has superiority in QOL impaction.