Impact of Recurrence of Ovarian Cancer on Quality of Life and Outlook for the Future

Abstract

Objective: Ovarian cancer recurs in most patients, with a 5-year survival rate less than 30%. Quality of life is an increasingly important issue in patients with cancer, but there are limited data in women with recurrent ovarian cancer in this regard.

Materials and methods: We used an ad hoc questionnaire to compare changes in health perceptions, burden of disease, and expectations for the future quality of life in women with and without recurrence of ovarian cancer. A total of 173 women were included, 116 with relapse and 57 without, undergoing follow-up in a routine clinical setting.

Results: Substantial differences were seen in self-assessed health status between women with and without recurrence; 33.6% and 82.4% of women with and without recurrence rated their health as good to excellent, respectively. More patients with recurrence of disease reported limitations in moderate activity than those without. Furthermore, 79.0% of women without recurrence reported that pain did not affect or only slightly affected daily activities, compared with 28.2% with recurrence. Most women with recurrence (59.5%) reported that they were able to do less than they wanted to because of their emotional status compared with only 15.8% of women without recurrence. In addition, 66.4% of women with recurrence referred that they had problems concentrating at work and home versus 26.3% of women without recurrence.

Conclusions: From this survey, it is clear that relapse of disease has a negative psychological and physical impact, highlighting the importance of time without recurrence and the need for effective treatment in the long term.

FIGURE 1

Limitations in daily activities between patients with and without recurrence due to physical problems. The percentage of women responding “no” or “very little” is shown. *P < 0.05 between groups. †The questions refer to the past 4 weeks due to physical health.

FIGURE 2

Limitations in daily activities between patients with and without recurrence due to emotional problems. The percentage of women responding “yes” is shown. *P < 0.05 between groups. **The questions refer to the past 4 weeks due to physical health.

FIGURE 3

General feelings during the last 4 weeks between patients with and without recurrence. The percentage of women responding “always” or “almost always” is shown. *P < 0.05 between groups.

FIGURE 4

Outlook for the future in patients with and without recurrence. The mean score of responses is shown (possible score 1–7; 1, total disagreement; 7, complete agreement). Values in parentheses indicate the SEM. *P < 0.05 between groups.

FIGURE 5

Differences in how the disease has affected daily life and future prospects in women with and without recurrence. The mean score of responses is shown (possible score 1–10; 1, total disagreement; 10, complete agreement). Values in parentheses indicate the SEM. *P < 0.05 between groups.