[Quality of life in patients with advanced ovarian cancer who underwent cytoreductive surgery followed by chemotherapy].

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the influence of cytoreductive surgery followed by chemotherapy on quality of life (QOL) in patients with advanced ovarian cancer. A total of 33 patients, who underwent the treatment after telling the truth and gave us the information on QOL 11 to 42 months after the discharge, were entered into the present study. Survival and length of hospital stay were calculated. QOL including emotional and physical well-being were assessed with a structure questionnaire which gives 110 points as full marks. The estimated 5-year survival rate was 49.6%. The mean survival time and length of hospital stay were 1,257 and 382 days, respectively. The mean QOL score was estimated to be 93.2. THe scores for both sociality and mentality showed a tendency to increase after completion of the treatment. Thirty-two of 33 cases (97.0%) obtained a good response for telling the truth. Alopecia and emesis due to chemotherapy were serious problems for patients. The present study showed that telling the truth was useful for well-informed consent and the QOL of patients with advanced ovarian cancer was not disturbed by cytoreductive surgery or chemotherapy.