Patients with intracranial meningioma treated with surgery have inferior quality of life (QoL) to the general population in almost every tested category, according to research published in Cancer.1
Meningioma, the most common brain tumor among adults, is usually benign, though these growths can lead to serious symptoms and low overall QoL. There are, however, few data about how a meningioma diagnosis affects the average patient’s QoL.
For this study, researchers reviewed data from 1722 patients diagnosed with meningioma between 2006 and 2013 to determine whether the growth itself and/or treatment reduce patient QoL.
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Sixteen hundred and twenty-two controls were matched for age, gender, ethnicity, menopausal status among women, level of education, and comorbidities. Participants in both groups partook in the Medical Outcomes Study Short-Form 36 Health Survey (MOS SF-36) to determine relative QoL scores in a variety of domains.
Of the 8 evaluated domains (Physical Functioning, Role-Physical, Bodily Pain, General Health, Vitality, Social Functioning, Role-Emotional, and Mental Health), patients with meningioma had significantly worse scores in each area except Bodily Pain.
The three areas with the greatest mean point-difference between the control and meningioma group were Role-Physical (17.96-point difference), Role-Emotional (9.32-point difference), and Social Functioning (7.88-point difference).
The authors concluded that these findings suggest “that at least within the time period close to treatment, patients [with meningioma] may benefit from additional support for these domains.”
Reference
- Benz LS, Wrensch MR, Schildkraut JM, et al. Quality of life after surgery for intracranial meningioma. Cancer. 2017 Sep 13. doi: 10.1002/cncr.30975 [Epub ahead of print]
