QUALITY-OF-LIFE MEASUREMENT IN PATIENTS WITH ESOPHAGEAL CANCER

Quality of life (QOL) measurement may aid decision making in the treat ment of patients with oesophageal cancer but must be clinically valid to be useful. This study considered if the European Organisation for R esearch and Treatment of Cancer QOL questionnaire, the QLQ-C30, showed differing results in two clinically distinct groups of patients with oesophageal cancer and also investigated the correlation between dysph agia grade and various scales of QOL. Patients treated by oesophagecto my reported significantly better physical, emotional, cognitive, and g lobal health scores than those in the palliative treatment group. Pati ents who received palliative treatment had significantly worse pain, f atigue, appetite loss, constipation, and dysphagia. The correlations b etween dysphagia grade and each of the QOL scales and items in both gr oups of patients were poor. This questionnaire differentiates clearly between the two clinically distinct groups of patients, but to be an e ntirely appropriate indicator of QOL in patients with oesophageal canc er, an additional specific oesophageal module including a dysphagia sc ale is required.