Klin Onkol 2016; 29(2): 113-121. DOI: 10.14735/amko2016113.
Background: This study examined the impact of breast cancer on quality of life (QOL) of Czech women by comparing the QOL of breast cancer patients with that of age-matched healthy controls. Methods: The sample consisted of 74 breast cancer patients who fi lled in self-assessment questionnaires retrospectively before treatment and at the time of the study. In addition, 73 healthy controls completed the same battery of questionnaires. QOL was assessed using the
Rand 36-Item Health Survey, the Life Satisfaction Questionnaire, and the Czech research version of Functional Assessment of Breast Cancer Therapy. The Wilcoxon paired test and Mann-Whitney U test were used for data analysis. Results: A statistically signifi cant decline in QOL in breast cancer patients was found for the following components: Physical Functioning (p = 0.021), Role Functioning-Physical (p < 0.001), Bodily Pain (p = 0.001), General Health (p = 0.031), Role
Functioning-Emotional (p = 0.023), and Physical Well-being (p = 0.001). The only signifi cant increase over time was observed in Social/Family Well-being (p = 0.024). For most of the components, patients showed a statistically signifi cant lower QOL than that of healthy controls. A recent diagnosis, advanced disease stage, more comorbidities, a higher BMI, and other sociodemographic characteristics were associated with a higher incidence of a lower QOL over time. Conclusion: Perceived QOL decreased over time in breast cancer patients mainly in components such as physical and emotional functioning, bodily pain, and general health, with several risk factors strongly infl uencing this change. The QOL of patients was lower than that of the non-cancer population, indicating that subsequent care should be improved to minimize the adverse eff ects that breast cancer has on QOL.
