Disclosures: Matthew Tay, FRCP: No financial relationships or conflicts of interest

Objective: Cancer survivors have reduced health related quality of life (HRQOL) and high levels of distress after active treatment, due to physical, psychological and social issues. Understanding the prevalence and associations of HRQOL and distress in a patient population in the community is important in designing targeted rehabilitation programs. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and associations of HRQOL and distress in cancer patients.

Design: Cross-sectional observational study.

Setting: Community-based cancer rehabilitation center.

Participants: All cancer survivors were referred after they had completed their acute oncological treatment. Eligible patients were adults ≥21 years old and enrolled in the rehabilitation program between 2018 to 2020. Patients were excluded if they had terminally ill conditions or had major psychiatric illness. The study recruited 304 patients.

Interventions: A physiatrist-led multidisciplinary outpatient cancer rehabilitation program, which includes physiotherapists, occupational therapists, nutritionists and medical social workers.

Main Outcome Measures: HRQOL, as measured by the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G7), Distress Thermometer and Problem List.

Results: We found low levels of HRQOL and high levels of distress in patients, with a mean FACT-G7 total score of 11.68, and a mean distress thermometer score of 3.51. In the multivariate regression model, significant factors for low HRQOL were metastatic disease (OR=2.98; 95% CI = 1.15-7.72; p=0.025) and Malay ethnicity (OR=0.157; 95% CI = 0.056-9.44; p < 0.001). Regression analyses also found that significant distress was associated with family health issues (OR=4.27; 95% CI=1.41-10.71; p=0.003), depression (OR=8.34; 95% CI=2.51-28.04; p=0.001), worry (OR=3.08; 95% CI=1.41-6.75; p=0.005), breathing (OR=4.59; 95% CI=1.52-13.86; p=0.007), getting around (OR=4.03; 95% CI=1.36-11.95; p=0.012) and indigestion (OR=3.31; 95% CI=1.06-10.32; p=0.039).

Conclusions: A high prevalence of impaired HRQOL and distress was reported in cancer survivors even in a community rehabilitation setting. The physical and psychosocial well-being of cancer survivors should be monitored and managed as part of community-based cancer rehabilitation.

Level of Evidence: Level III

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PM&R Meeting Abstracts - https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/health-related-quality-of-life-and-distress-in-an-asian-community-based-cancer-rehabilitation-program/