Assessing Quality of Life in Patients Undergoing Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation

the Cancer Therapy Advisor take:

Health-related quality of life (HRQL) in patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) was linked to whether the transplant was after myeloablative conditioning (MAC) or reduced intensity conditioning (RIC), according to an article posted online in the European Journal of Cancer Care.

Participants included 94 patients who were undergoing HSCT after MAC (n = 18) or RIC (n= 76).  The EORTC QLQ C-30 was used to assess HRQL in patients during the inpatient period and throughout the following 3 years.

Patients’ functional status and global quality of life (eg, role,social functions) were observed to have decreased from baseline to weeks 2 and 3.

Symptoms including appetite loss, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea and fatigue significantly increased during the first 3 weeks.

HRQL took at least 1 year to return to baseline level, but only role function was found to have significantly improved 3 years post-transplantation.

Patients who initially received MAC had a significantly worse HRQL at baseline, along with patients with extensive chronic graft-versus-host disease.   Patients who received MAC also experienced more pain, interrupted sleep, and appetite loss in weeks 3 and 4 compared to those who received RIC.