Health-Related Quality of Life in Breast Cancer Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy: A Cross-Sectional Study in Greece

Background and Objectives: Quality of life (QoL) is an important issue for breast cancer (BC) survivors. The objective of this study was to assess health-related QoL (HRQoL) of BC patients and investigate the impact of different demographic and clinical factors on physical and social functioning and BC-related symptoms. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 107 BC patients undergoing chemotherapy in Greece completed a questionnaire collecting sociodemographic and clinical information and the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) in order to assess HRQoL. Descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression analyses were used to identify factors linked to HRQoL outcomes. Results: Overall, participants reported moderate HRQoL, with high physical and social functioning and moderate emotional, cognitive, and role functioning. Fatigue was the most common symptom, whereas other symptoms were generally uncommon. Multiple regression analyses showed that marital status, place of residence, time since diagnosis, and type of surgery were significantly associated with the global QLQ-C30 score (R² = 0.337, p < 0.001). Physical functioning was associated with comorbidity burden, time since diagnosis, and employment status (R² = 0.155, p = 0.035), and social functioning with marital status and type of surgery (R² = 0.171, p = 0.011). Emotional functioning showed exploratory associations with place of residence and type of surgery; however, the overall regression model for emotional functioning did not reach statistical significance. No symptom model reached overall significance, but time since diagnosis, treatment type, and surgery were linked to distinct symptoms. Conclusions: BC patients undergoing chemotherapy in Greece report an overall moderate level of HRQoL, which is significantly influenced by a combination of demographic and clinical factors; physical and social functioning were high, with moderate emotional, cognitive, and role functioning. These findings highlight the importance of individualized supportive care strategies in order to improve QoL of BC patients.