Factors Influencing Global Health Related Quality of Life in Elderly Cancer Patients: Results of a Secondary Data Analysis

Analysis of hospitalization expenses and influencing factors for elderly cancer patients in a tertiary hospital in Dalian, China: a five‑year retrospective study

BACKGROUND

Because the proportion of elderly individuals and the incidence of cancer worldwide are continually increasing, medical costs for elderly inpatients with cancer are being significantly increasing, which puts tremendous financial pressure on their families and society. The current study described the actual direct medical costs of elderly inpatients with cancer and analyzed the influencing factors for the costs to provide advice on the prevention and control of the high medical costs of elderly patients with cancer.

METHOD

A retrospective descriptive analysis was performed on the hospitalization expense data of 11,399 elderly inpatients with cancer at a tier-3 hospital in Dalian between June 2016 and June 2020. The differences between different groups were analyzed using univariate analysis, and the influencing factors of hospitalization expenses were explored by multiple linear regression analysis.

RESULTS

The hospitalization cost of elderly cancer patients showed a decreasing trend from 2016 to 2020. Specifically, the top 3 hospitalization costs were material costs, drug costs and surgery costs, which accounted for greater than 10% of all cancers according to the classification: colorectal (23.96%), lung (21.74%), breast (12.34%) and stomach cancer (12.07%). Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that cancer type, surgery, year and length of stay (LOS) had a common impact on the four types of hospitalization costs (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

There were significant differences in the four types of hospitalization costs for elderly cancer patients according to the LOS, surgery, year and type of cancer. The study results suggest that the health administration department should enhance the supervision of hospital costs and elderly cancer patient treatment. Measures should be taken by relying on the hospital information system to strengthen the cost management of cancer diseases and departments, optimize the internal management system, shorten elderly cancer patients LOS, and reasonably control the costs of disease diagnosis, treatment and department operation to effectively reduce the economic burden of elderly cancer patients.

General population normative values for the EORTC QLQ-C30 by age, sex, and health condition for the French general population

BACKGROUND

General population normative values for the widely used health-related quality of life (HRQoL) measure EORTC QLQ-C30 support the interpretation of trial results and HRQoL of patients in clinical practice. Here, we provide sex-, age- and health condition-specific normative values for the EORTC QLQ-C30 in the French general population.

METHODS

French general population data was collected in an international EORTC project. Online panels with quota samples were used to recruit sex and age groups. Number and type of comorbidities were assessed. Descriptive statistics were used to calculate general population values for each QLQ-C30 scale, separately for sex, age, and presence of one- and more chronic health conditions. A multivariate linear regression model has been developed to allow estimating the effect of sex, age, and the presence for one- and more chronic health conditions on EORTC QLQ-C30 scores. Data was weighted according to United Nation statistics adjusting for the proportion of sex and age groups.

RESULTS

In total, 1001 French respondents were included in our analyses. The weighted mean age was 47.9 years, 514 (51.3%) participants were women, and 497 (52.2%) participants reported at least one health condition. Men reported statistically significant better scores for Emotional Functioning (+9.6 points, p = 0.006) and Fatigue (-7.8 point; p = 0.04); women reported better profiles for Role Functioning (+8.7 points; p = 0.008) and Financial Difficulty (-7.8 points, p = 0.011). According to the regression model, the sex effect was statistically significant in eight scales; the effect of increasing age had a statistically significant effect on seven of the 15 EORTC QLQ-C30 scales. The sex- and age effect varied in its direction across the various scales. The presence of health conditions showed a strong negative effect on all scales.

CONCLUSION

This is the first publication of detailed French normative values for the EORTC QLQ-C30. It aims to support the interpretation of HRQoL profiles in French cancer populations. The strong impact of health conditions on QLQ-C30 scores highlights the importance of considering the impact of comorbidities in cancer patients when interpreting HRQoL data.

Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment and Quality of Life Aspects in Patients with Recurrent/Metastatic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma (HNSCC)

To define frailty in older cancer patients, the aim of this study was to assess the geriatric status and quality of life (QoL) aspects in patients suffering from recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (r/m HNSCC) under palliative treatment. A comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) was performed on 21 r/m HNSCC patients at two defined assessments, and the QoL aspects and the impact of descriptive data were evaluated. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Spearman's rho correlation, and two-way mixed ANOVA were used for statistical analysis. All patients were found to be "frail". Pain, fatigue, and the burden of illness were the highest-rated symptoms. Oral function and orofacial appearance were highly impaired. A significant impact of descriptive data on the CGA and QoL results was found (all p ≤ 0.05). Thus, the CGA results revealed high frailty, severe comorbidities, and high impairments in QoL aspects. The CGA and QoL results were negatively affected by the primary HNSCC treatment approach, the need for prosthetic treatment, and worse oral functional capacity. Therefore, frailty in r/m HNSCC patients seems to be multidimensional. The evaluation of the CGA and QoL aspects in r/m HNSCC patients can be recommended to detect special needs, organize aftercare, and improve the support for frail and vulnerable cancer patients to create a multidisciplinary treatment approach.

Real-world patient-reported outcomes and concordance between patient and physician reporting of side effects across lines of therapy in multiple myeloma within the USA

PURPOSE

We aimed to explore patient-reported outcomes (PROs) and patient and physician concordance of side effects perception across lines of therapy (LOT) in multiple myeloma (MM) within the United States of America (USA).

METHODS

Data were drawn from the Adelphi Real World MM III Disease Specific Programme™, a point-in-time survey of hemato-oncologists/hematologists and their patients with MM conducted in the USA between August 2020 and July 2021. Physicians reported patient characteristics and side effects. Patients reported side-effect bother and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) using validated PRO tools (European Organisation for the Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Core Questionnaire/-MM Module [EORTC QLQ-C30/-MY20], EQ-5D-3L and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General Population physical item 5). Descriptive, linear regression and concordance analyses were performed.

RESULTS

Records from 63 physicians and 132 patients with MM were analyzed. EORTC QLQ-C30/-MY20 and EQ-5D-3L scores were consistent across LOTs. Scores tended to be worse with higher side-effect bother; patients "very much" bothered by side effects had lower median (interquartile range) global health status scores (33.3 [25.0-50.0]) than those "not at all" bothered (79.2 [66.7-83.3]). Patient and physician concordance on side-effect reporting was poor to fair. Patients frequently reported fatigue and nausea as bothersome side effects.

CONCLUSION

HRQoL of patients with MM was worse with greater side-effect bother. Discordant patient and physician reporting of side effects indicated a need for improved communication during management of MM.

Efficacy and Safety of Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) in Elderly Patients with Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma: Subgroup Analysis of the Phase 3 EF-14 Clinical Trial

Background

Understudied elderly patients comprise a large segment of high-risk patients with glioblastoma (GBM) that are challenging to treat. Tumor Treating Fields (TTFields) is a locoregional, noninvasive, antimitotic therapy delivering low-intensity, intermediate-frequency alternating electric fields to the tumor. In the phase 3 EF-14 clinical trial, TTFields (200 kHz) improved median progression-free survival (PFS) and median overall survival (OS) in patients with newly diagnosed GBM (ndGBM) when added concomitantly to maintenance temozolomide (TMZ). This EF-14 subgroup analysis evaluated the safety and efficacy of TTFields in elderly patients.

Methods

All 134 patients who are ≥65 years of age were included (TTFields/TMZ combination, n=89; TMZ monotherapy, n=45; 2:1 ratio of randomization). PFS and OS were analyzed using Kaplan-Meier methodology (α=0.05). Health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL) was assessed using the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) quality-of-life questionnaire QLQ-C30 supplemented with the brain tumor module (QLQ-BN20). Adverse events (AEs) were evaluated using Common Terminology Criteria for AEs (CTCAE) v4.0.

Results

The PFS was 6.5 months in patients randomized to the treatment group with TTFields/TMZ combination versus 3.9 months in patients treated with TMZ monotherapy (HR, 0.47; 95% CI, 0.30-0.74; P=0.0236). The OS was 17.4 months in patients treated with TTFields/TMZ combination versus 13.7 months in patients treated with TMZ monotherapy (HR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.33-0.77; P=0.0204). Annual survival rates with TTFields/TMZ versus TMZ monotherapy were 39% (95% CI, 29-50%) versus 27% (95% CI, 15-41%; P=0.072) at 2 years, 19% (95% CI, 11-29%) versus 11% (95% CI, 4-23%; P=0.135) at 3 years, and 15% (95% CI, 7-25%) versus 0% at 5 years, respectively. There were no significant differences between groups in the preselected items of HRQoL assessment. Grade ≥3 systemic AEs were 46% in the TTFields/TMZ group versus 40% in the TMZ monotherapy group, without statistically significant difference between the two groups. The only TTFields-related AEs were reversible scalp skin reactions, with grades 1-2 and grade 3 skin reactions reported by 51% and 2% of patients, respectively.

Conclusions

Combining TTFields with maintenance TMZ significantly improved PFS and OS in elderly patients with ndGBM in the phase 3 EF-14 clinical trial, without significant increases in systemic toxicity or negatively affecting patient HRQoL. TTFields-related skin AEs were low-grade and manageable.

Clinical Trial Registration

https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT00916409, identifier: NCT00916409.

Quality of life in cancer patients with or without medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw

PURPOSE

Cancer and its therapies can have a significant impact on general and oral health and, therefore, cause a reduction in patients' quality of life (QoL). The study aimed to evaluate the QoL of cancer patients who use antiresorptive and anti-angiogenic medications with or without the development of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaws (MRONJ).

METHODS

Sixty-two patients diagnosed with cancer under antiresorptive therapy answered three instruments from the European Organization for Cancer Research and Treatment (EORTC). The first questionnaire (QLQ-C30) aimed to measure the overall QoL, the second (QLQ-ELD14) is a complementary module for elderly patients, and the third (QLQ-OH15) aimed to assess oral health related to QoL.

RESULTS

The mean age of the patients was 62.19 years, and 12.9% developed MRONJ. There was no significant difference between sex and MRONJ. Among the QLQ-C30 scales, the item "role functioning (RF2)" presented a significant result (p = 0.019). Those patients without MRONJ had a better function performance both in their daily chores and in their free time. Age was not associated to MRONJ, although some concerns are common to the elderly and cancer patients. QoL related to oral health presented a significant result (p = 0.048) showing that MRONJ has a negative impact on patients' QoL.

CONCLUSION

Our results showed that MRONJ has a significant impact on the general and oral QoL of cancer patients, and therefore prevention and awareness must be a priority.

Correlations between long-term quality of life and patient needs and concerns following head and neck cancer treatment and the impact of psychological distress. A multicentric cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES

To assess patient needs and concerns after head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) treatment and their possible correlations with long-term quality of life (QoL) and to examine the potential impact of psychological distress on these results.

METHODS

Alive and disease-free HNSCC patients at least 1 year after treatment were enrolled in this cross-sectional multicentric study and completed the EORTC QLQ-C30 and H&N35 QoL questionnaires, the head and neck cancer-specific patient concerns inventory (PCI-HN) questionnaire and the hospital anxiety and depression scale (HADS). Correlations between QoL outcomes and patient needs and concerns were investigated using Spearman's correlation tests.

RESULTS

Seventy-two patients were enrolled in the study. Fear of cancer recurrence was the main patient concern followed by dental, salivary, fatigue, speech, and eating problems. The leading patient needs in terms of consultation were to be referred to the surgeon, the speech, and swallow therapist and the oral rehabilitation team. The number of patient concerns correlated negatively (r < .40) with functioning scales score and positively (r > .40) with general and head and neck symptoms. Psychological distress was the main determinant of QoL outcomes (p < .0001). We found a significant impact of gender (p = .002) on the number of patient concerns, and of patient age (p = .003) on the number of staff members selected by patients.

CONCLUSION

Identification of patient needs and concerns along with multidisciplinary management of persistent symptoms and psychological distress seem essential steps towards improving QoL of HNSCC patients.

Clinical, dietary and demographic characteristics interfering on quality of life of cancer patients

OBJECTIVE

To estimate the dietary intake of cancer patients and its relation with clinical and demographic characteristics, and to assess the contribution of dietary intake, appetite/symptoms and clinical and demographic characteristics to their quality of life.

METHODS

The consumption of energy and macronutrients of patients was estimated. The relation between dietary intake and clinical and demographic characteristics was evaluated by analysis of variance. The intake of energy and macronutrient of the patients was compared to the nutritional recommendations using 95% confidence interval. The Cancer Appetite and Symptom Questionnaire (CASQ) and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC QLQ C-30) were used to assess appetite/symptoms and quality of life, respectively. The psychometric properties of the instruments were estimated. A structural equation model was prepared.

RESULTS

In this study, 772 cancer patients (63.1% women) participated. There was a significant relation between dietary intake and work activity, economic class, specialty field of cancer, type of treatment and nutritional status. Patients' energy and macronutrients intake was below recommended values. Both CASQ and EORTC QLQ C-30 were refined to fit the data. In the structural model, impaired appetite, more symptoms, presence of metastasis, being female and of higher economic classes were characteristics that significantly contributed to interfering in patients' quality of life.

CONCLUSION

The dietary intake of oncology patients did not reach the recommended values. Different characteristics impacted on quality of life of patients and should be considered in clinical and epidemiological protocols.