Health-Related Quality of Life and Utility Scores of Colorectal Cancer Patients in Shanghai

BACKGROUND Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths globally. CRC and its treatment heavily impact patients' physical and mental health, often causing physical limitations, anxiety, and depression. Assessing health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in CRC patients is increasingly recognized as important, but more research is needed on influencing factors. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the quality of life of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients, and analyze other possible influencing factors to provide reference suggestions for improving the health-related quality of life of colorectal cancer patients. METHODS This study included patients diagnosed with CRC from secondary and tertiary hospitals in Hongkou district, Shanghai, China from 2020 to 2022. The HRQoL and utility scores of these patients were measured using the five-level EQ-5D (EQ-5D-5L). The EQ-5D-5L utility scores were derived from the Chinese EQ-5D-5L Value Set. The relationships between HRQoL and the socio-demographic and clinical characteristics of patients were further analyzed using Tobit regression. RESULTS Statistical analysis showed that the overall mean health utility scores of colorectal cancer patients were between 0.853 (SD = 0.214). Problems in the pain/discomfort dimension were reported by 50.68%, followed by problems in the anxiety/depression (47.34%), mobility (39.06%), self-care (33.25%) and usual activities (32.63%) dimensions. Besides, the Kruskal Wallis test showed that educational level, average annual household income, TNM stage, whether hospitalization or not, and payment burden significantly impacted the HRQoL of CRC patients. Specifically, higher education level, higher average annual household income, earlier TNM stage, hospitalization, and less payment burden corresponded to higher HRQoL. CONCLUSION In CRC patients, different annual average household income, TNM cancer stage, hospitalization status, and payment burden can significantly diminish HRQoL. Therefore, healthcare institutions should comprehensively consider various factors affecting the HRQoL and further improve the care of cancer patients in order to improve the physical function and psychological flexibility of patients and improve the HRQoL of patients.