Quality of life of ovarian cancer survivors

The literature on ovarian cancer has conflicting messages about health outcomes. Although research has been conducted on quality of life (QOL) of Ovarian Cancer Survivors (OCS), stage of disease is not often considered¹. This study compares QOL of OCS (n=244), to Breast Cancer Survivors (BCS, n=1136).

Data come from the American Cancer Society's Study of Cancer Survivors-I, a longitudinal study of the QOL and adjustment of survivors of ten cancers from 11 states. Mail and telephone surveys were administered to a random sample of survivors drawn from state cancer registries who were a median of 14 months post-diagnosis.

Using regression models, OCS SF-36 Physical Composite Scores (PCS) were slightly higher across all stages (local 52.5, regional 48.9, and distant 43.1), than BCS PCS scores across all stages (local 48.1, regional 46.1, distant 39.9). There were no significant differences in SF-36 Mental Composite Scores by cancer type or stage.

OCS under 49 years of age were more likely to report that being physically unable to have children was a concern when compared to BCS (27% OCS, 14% BCS, p=0.008) and OCS of all ages were more likely to report that being less physically able to have sexual intercourse was a concern when compared to BCS (46% OCS, 37% BCS, p=0.02).

The physical health status of OCS with localized cancer appears to be at normative levels whereas OCS with distant cancer is 0.7 standard deviations below the population norm. Sexual and reproductive health concerns were elevated among OCS when compared to BCS.