THE QUALITY-OF-LIFE DURING INTRAVESICAL BACILLUS-CALMETTE-GUERIN THERAPY

Purpose: In the treatment of cancer the subjective evaluation of thera py induced side effects and quality of life must be considered. Adjuva nt intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) immunotherapy is regard ed as highly effective but associated with significant side effects. T o clarify whether these side effects significantly impact on patient s atisfaction with life, a prospective survey of the health related qual ity of life and side effects was performed during an intravesical BCG treatment course. Materials and Methods: Symptoms and side effects wer e recorded daily during the 6-week instillation period in 30 patients. The quality of life was determined before, during and after intravesi cal therapy with the assistance of a self-reported questionnaire. Resu lts: Due to a detailed subjective assessment of side effects, the cour se of local symptoms could be characterized with great reliability. Al though side effects occurred, satisfaction with life in the patients s tudied was high and was not impaired during the treatment. The inciden ce of side effects correlated well with patient subjective evaluation of quality of life. Conclusions: Assessment of side effects and qualit y of life, as presented in this pilot study, can assist in the quantif ication of localized symptoms in intravesical therapy and could contri bute to the comparability of clinical studies. With regard to intraves ical BCG immunotherapy, our results suggest that the specific side eff ects do not seriously impair satisfaction with life in these patients.