Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Oct;50(4):1186-1193.
doi: 10.4143/crt.2017.435. Epub 2017 Dec 14.

The Impact of Skin Problems on the Quality of Life in Patients Treated with Anticancer Agents: A Cross-Sectional Study

Jaewon Lee  1   2 , Jin Lim  3 , Jong Seo Park  1   2 , Miso Kim  3 , Tae-Yong Kim  3 , Tae Min Kim  3 , Kyung-Hun Lee  3 , Bhumsuk Keam  3 , Sae-Won Han  3 , Je-Ho Mun  1   2 , Kwang Hyun Cho  1   2 , Seong Jin Jo  1   2
Affiliations

The Impact of Skin Problems on the Quality of Life in Patients Treated with Anticancer Agents: A Cross-Sectional Study

Jaewon Lee et al. Cancer Res Treat. 2018 Oct.

Abstract

Purpose: Patients treated with anticancer agents often experience a variety of treatment-related skin problems, which can impair their quality of life.

Materials and methods: In this cross-sectional study, Dermatology Life Quality Index (DLQI) and clinical information were evaluated in patients under active anticancer treatment using a questionnaire survey and their medical records review.

Results: Of 375 evaluated subjects with anticancer therapy, 136 (36.27%) and 114 (30.40%) were treated for breast cancer and colorectal cancer, respectively. We found that women, breast cancer, targeted agent use, and longer duration of anticancer therapy were associated with higher dermatology-specific quality of life distraction. In addition, itching, dry skin, easy bruising, pigmentation, papulopustules on face, periungual inflammation, nail changes, and palmoplantar lesions were associated with significantly higher DLQI scores. Periungual inflammation and palmoplantar lesions scored the highest DLQI.

Conclusion: We believe our findings can be helpful to clinicians in counseling and managing the patients undergoing anticancer therapy.

Keywords: Adverse drug reaction; Antineoplastic agents; Dermatology Life Quality Index; Quality of life.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest relevant to this article was not reported.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Comparison of mean DLQI scores in patients between the type of cancer. Data are mean±stdandard error bars using the Independent T-test. Patients with breast cancer have more distraction in their life than those with any other type of cancer. a)Versus colorectal cancer; 5.16 vs. 3.35, p=0.038, b)Versus gastric cancer; 5.16 vs. 2.70, p=0.034, c)Versus others; 5.16 vs. 2.11, p=0.005.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Differences in mean Dermatology Life Quality Index when the patients have a certain specific skin problems or not. *Statistically significant difference.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Byun HJ, Lee HJ, Yang JI, Kim KH, Park KO, Park SM, et al. Daily skin care habits and the risk of skin eruptions and symptoms in cancer patients. Ann Oncol. 2012;23:1992–8. - PubMed
    1. Boone SL, Rademaker A, Liu D, Pfeiffer C, Mauro DJ, Lacouture ME. Impact and management of skin toxicity associated with anti-epidermal growth factor receptor therapy: survey results. Oncology. 2007;72:152–9. - PubMed
    1. Lacouture ME. The growing importance of skin toxicity in EGFR inhibitor therapy. Oncology (Williston Park) 2009;23:194. - PubMed
    1. Huang V, Anadkat M. Dermatologic manifestations of cytotoxic therapy. Dermatol Ther. 2011;24:401–10. - PubMed
    1. Jatoi A, Rowland K, Sloan JA, Gross HM, Fishkin PA, Kahanic SP, et al. Tetracycline to prevent epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor-induced skin rashes: results of a placebo-controlled trial from the North Central Cancer Treatment Group (N03CB) Cancer. 2008;113:847–53. - PMC - PubMed

Substances