Quality of life in gestational trophoblastic neoplasia patients after treatment in Thailand

Abstract

Background: Gestational trophoblastic neoplasia (GTN) is a malignant disease which occurs in women of reproductive age. Treatment of GTN has an excellent outcome and further pregnancies can be expected. However, data concerning quality of life in these cancer survivor patients are limited. This study aimed to assess quality of life in women who were diagnosed with GTN and remission after treatment, and to determine factors that may affect quality of life status. Materials and Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted from July 2013 to May 2014 in the Gestational Trophoblastic Disease Clinic, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand. Patients who were diagnosed GTN and complete remission were recruited. Data collection was accomplished by interview with two sets of questionnaires, one general covering demographic data and the other focusing on quality of life, the fourth version of Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT-G). Descriptive statistics were used to determine general data and quality of life scores. Students t-test and one way ANOVA were used to compare between categorical and continuous data. Results: Forty four patients were enrolled in this study. The overall mean quality of life score (FACT-G) was 98.2. The overall FACT-G score was not significantly correlated with age, education level, stage of disease, treatment modalities, and time interval from remission to enrollment. However, patients who needed further fertility showed significant lower FACT-G scores in the emotional well-being domain (p=0.02). Conclusions: Overall quality of life scores in post-treatment gestational trophoblastic neoplasia patients are in the mild impairment range. Patients who desire fertility suffer lower quality of life in the emotional well-being domain.