QUALITY-OF-LIFE STUDIES IN CHEMOTHERAPY-INDUCED EMESIS

Health-related quality of life (HQL) was assessed before and after eit her moderately or highly emetogenic chemotherapy. When the pretreatmen t HQL in patients who did not vomit after chemotherapy (n = 203) was c ompared to those who vomited (n = 230), it was found that patients who did not vomit had better physical, role, and social function scores a s well as a better global quality of life score than did patients who had one or more episodes of vomiting. Furthermore, in patients who did not vomit, the pretreatment fatigue and anorexia scores were better t han in patients who did vomit. Thus, pretreatment HQL scores appear to have value in predicting which patients will experience chemotherapy- induced emesis. In the week following chemotherapy, HQL change scores from prechemotherapy values for cognitive function, global quality of life, fatigue, anorexia, insomnia and dyspnea were significantly worse in the group experiencing emesis than in the group who remained compl etely free of emesis. There were no differences in physical, role, emo tional and social function attributable to chemotherapy-induced vomiti ng.