Impact of brain tumour treatment on quality of life

Abstract

Measurement of Health Related Quality of Life (HRQL) in brain tumour patients is important because brain tumours and brain tumour treatment usually affect physical, cognitive as well as emotional functioning. Measurement of HRQL is important for the understanding of disease burden and for the impact of specific tumour treatment. Quality of Life is a multidimensional concept consisting of physical, psychological and social phenomena. A large number of Quality of Life instruments have been developed. The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) and the MOS Short-Form Health Survey are two frequently used general HRQL instruments. A specific brain tumour scale is the Brain Cancer Module, which is designed to be used in combination with general questionnaires. HRQL measurement and neuropsychological examination were used to investigate the impact of radiotherapy and surgery in low-grade glioma patients and the influence of tumour volume, tumour localization, performance status and age in both low-grade and high-grade glioma patients.