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. 2012 Sep;23(9):1421-8.
doi: 10.1007/s10552-012-0010-2. Epub 2012 Jun 26.

Most colorectal cancer survivors live a large proportion of their remaining life in good health

Isabelle Soerjomataram  1 , Melissa S Y Thong, Majid Ezzati, Elizabeth B Lamont, Wilma J Nusselder, Lonneke V van de Poll-Franse
Affiliations

Most colorectal cancer survivors live a large proportion of their remaining life in good health

Isabelle Soerjomataram et al. Cancer Causes Control. 2012 Sep.

Abstract

Purpose: Colorectal cancer (CRC) diagnosis reduces life expectancy and decreases patients' well-being. We sought to assess the determinants of health and functional status and estimate the proportion of remaining life that CRC survivors would spend in good health.

Methods: Using Sullivan method, healthy life expectancy was calculated based on survival data of 14,849 CRC survivors within a population-based cancer registry in southern Netherlands and quality of life information among a random sample of these survivors (n = 1,291).

Results: Overall, albeit short life expectancy (LE at age 50 = 12 years for males and 13 years for females), most CRC survivors spent a large proportion of their remaining life in good health (74 and 77 %, for males and females, respectively). Long-term survivors may expect to live a normal life span (LE at age 50 = 30 years) and spent a large proportion of the remaining life in good health (78 %). In distinction, those with stage IV CRC had less than 2 years to live and spent more than half of their remaining life in poor health.

Conclusions: Most CRC patients may expect no compromise on living a healthy life, underlining the importance of early detection. On the other hand, the high proportion of non-healthy years among stage IV CRC survivors confirms the importance of early detection and palliative care.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Survival proportion among colorectal cancer survivors, alive between 2000 and 2009
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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