Quality of life of family caregivers and survival of head and neck cancer patients in palliative care

Author(s)

Pequeno, Daniel Paixao ; Carron, Juliana ; Gaspar, Karla Cristina ; Passos Lima, Carmen Silvia ; Lourenco, Gustavo Jacob

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CANCER CARE; v. 31, n. 6, p. 12-pg., 2022-10-10.

Abstract

Objective The aim of this study is to assess the effect of sociodemographic and genetic features on the quality of life (QoL) of family caregivers (FCGs) of patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) in palliative care (PC) and the effect of QoL of FCGs on patients' survival. Methods A questionnaire was applied to obtain sociodemographic information of 100 FCGs of patients with HNC in PC. The WHOQoL-bref questionnaire was used to measure QoL. Genotypes were identified using real-time PCR. Differences between groups were assessed by linear regression. Event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) were calculated by the Cox proportional hazard ratio (HR) regression. Results Worse QoL in the overall QoL (p = 0.04), physical health (p = 0.04), psychological (p = 0.005), and environment (p = 0.02) domains was associated to employed caregivers. Collective transport was related to worse QoL of the FCGs in the general health (p = 0.02) and psychological (p = 0.01) domains. Lower levels of QoL of FCGs in the social relationships domain were predictive of a decrease in EFS (HR: 1.98, p = 0.01) and OS (HR: 2.01, p = 0.01) of the patients. Conclusion The results suggest that employment status and means of transportation may impair the QoL of FCGs. Lower levels of QoL of FCGs in the social relationships domain could decrease patients' survival. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 12/17182-1 - Polymorphic genes expression analysis identified in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of base of tongue
• Grantee: Gustavo Jacob Lourenço
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants