Study of Changes in Quality of Life After Rectal Cancer Surgery Using FACT-C Questionnaire

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Surgical Oncology
• Quality of Life Research

Background:

• Rectal cancer treatment, including neoadjuvant therapy and surgery, significantly impacts patient quality of life (QOL).
• Surgical options for locally advanced rectal cancer include sphincter-preserving surgeries (SPS) and abdominoperineal resection (APR).

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the pattern of changes in QOL for patients undergoing rectal cancer surgery.
• To assess QOL using the validated FACT-C (Malayalam) questionnaire.

Main Methods:

• A prospective study involved 102 rectal cancer patients undergoing surgery.
• QOL was assessed using the FACT-C (Malayalam) questionnaire preoperatively and at 1 month, 3 months, and 1 year postoperatively.
• Paired t-tests were used to compare QOL scores across different time points and patient groups.

Main Results:

• Overall QOL and all four domains (physical, emotional, social, functional well-being) significantly dropped at 1 month post-surgery, with the most profound decline in physical and functional well-being.
• QOL scores did not differ between SPS and APR groups initially, but recovery was faster in APR patients by 3 months.
• No significant differences in QOL were observed based on age group, sex, surgical approach (laparoscopic/open), disease stage, or adjuvant therapy, although younger patients and females showed faster social domain improvement.

Conclusions:

• Rectal cancer surgery leads to an initial decline in QOL, followed by gradual improvement over one year.
• Abdominoperineal resection (APR) patients demonstrated earlier QOL recovery compared to sphincter-preserving surgery (SPS) patients.
• Factors like age and surgical approach influence the *pattern* of QOL recovery, with younger patients and APR showing faster improvements.