Impact of late effects after treatment for bladder cancer with radical cystectomy on Quality of life: a case-control study.

Abstract

Background and purpose: The gold standard when treating muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) is radical cystectomy (RC), a procedure that holds the potential to affect the function of several pelvic organs, causing an impact on the patient's Quality of Life (QoL). Knowledge of the late effects following bladder cancer and treatment with RC is sparse. The aim is to describe the incidence of late effects and to investigate the impact on QoL.

Methods: A cross-sectional study using register data in combination with a questionnaire, measuring pelvic organ specific symptoms to treatment and QoL. MIBC patients diagnosed between 2015 and 2020 and able to receive digital mail was invited. For each MIBC patient, 6 age- and gender matched controls were invited. QoL was measured using EORTC-QLQ-C30. The MIBC specific EORTC-QLQ-BLM30 was administered to cases only.

Background and purpose: The gold standard when treating muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) is radical cystectomy (RC), a procedure that holds the potential to affect the function of several pelvic organs, causing an impact on the patient's Quality of Life (QoL). Knowledge of the late effects following bladder cancer and treatment with RC is sparse. The aim is to describe the incidence of late effects and to investigate the impact on QoL.

Methods: A cross-sectional study using register data in combination with a questionnaire, measuring pelvic organ specific symptoms to treatment and QoL. MIBC patients diagnosed between 2015 and 2020 and able to receive digital mail was invited. For each MIBC patient, 6 age- and gender matched controls were invited. QoL was measured using EORTC-QLQ-C30. The MIBC specific EORTC-QLQ-BLM30 was administered to cases only.

Results: A total of 628 (54.3%) MIBC patients and their 1,204 (37.3%) matched controls responded. Median age was 73. Mean time since RC was 4.9 (SD 2.1) years. Scoring of the functional items on EORTC-QLQ-C30 and overall QoL were similar for cases and controls. Regarding late effects, similar responses were seen on questionnaire data when comparing cases and controls. On registry data, a higher risk of infections and hydronephrosis were seen for cases. A strong correlation between fatigue and impaired QoL was identified.

Interpretation: MIBC patients were more often diagnosed with late effects such as infections and hydronephrosis, compared to controls. In spite of this, MIBC patients overall QoL was equal to that of the controls.