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Quality of life and the negative impact of comorbidities in long-term colorectal cancer survivors: a population-based comparison

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Abstract

Purpose

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer in the USA. The objective of this study was to compare quality of life (QoL) across long-term colorectal cancer survivors and unaffected matched controls while adjusting for comorbidities.

Methods

The National Cancer Institute (NCI)-funded Colon Cancer Family Registry (CCFR) was used to randomly select and recruit CRC survivors (≥ 5 years from diagnosis) and matched controls for a cross-sectional survey. Nine geographically diverse sites in the USA from the CCFR participated in the study. Telephone interviews were conducted using computer-assisted methods to assess QoL.

Results

A total of 403 cases and 401 controls were included in the final sample. Unadjusted comparison revealed no significant difference between CRC survivors and controls with respect to measures of fatigue, social, emotional, functional, and physical well-being. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that case status had a significant negative influence on colorectal cancer-specific QoL measures. Higher comorbidity indices had a significant negative influence on overall QoL regardless of case status.

Conclusions

Quality of life among long-term CRC survivors is similar to control subjects, with the exception of worse CRC-specific QoL measures. Higher comorbidity indices were independently associated with poor QoL for both cases and controls.

Implications for Cancer Survivors

Survivors and healthcare providers should be aware that long-term QoL is comparable to the general population; however, there is potential that digestive tract-specific issues may persist.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the Colon Cancer Family Registry for their support. The authors wish to acknowledge and express gratitude for the significant contributions of Dr. Diane Fairclough, who provided insights for the study design and analyses throughout the project.

Funding

This project was supported by a Research Scholar Grant (RSGPB-09-009-01) from the American Cancer Society. Dr. Pate was partially supported by a grant (D33HP31669, Preventive Medicine Residencies) from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and a Physician Training Award in Cancer Prevention (PTAPM-18-176-25) from the American Cancer Society.

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Correspondence to Betsy Risendal.

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The authors declare that they no conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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The contents in this manuscript are solely the responsibility of the authors and should not be construed as the official position or policy of HRSA or ACS.

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Pate, A., Lowery, J., Kilbourn, K. et al. Quality of life and the negative impact of comorbidities in long-term colorectal cancer survivors: a population-based comparison. J Cancer Surviv 14, 653–659 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-020-00876-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11764-020-00876-w

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