Assessment of quality of life in patients surgically treated for penile cancer: Impact of aggressiveness in surgery.

PURPOSE: Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) evaluations are being increasingly used for clinical assessment of cancer treatment outcomes. For a patient, not only is life expectancy important, but also a general sense of sustained global health. Intuitively, the more disfiguring the treatment, the more pronounced could be the deterioration in the QoL. We aimed to compare various aspects of QoL in three groups of patients surgically treated for penile cancer by local excision, partial penectomy, or total penectomy. METHODS: HRQoL was assessed in 51 patients surgically treated for penile cancer. Total penectomy, partial penectomy, or wide local excision was performed in 11, 27, and 13 patients, respectively. The EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire was used for HRQoL assessment. Relations between the patients and their partners were also assessed. RESULTS: Statistically significant negative correlation was found between aggressiveness of the surgical procedure and both, assessment of global health status (p = 0.04) and physical functioning (p = 0.047). The more aggressive the surgery, the lower was the patients' assessment of their QoL. Among the patients who maintained their partner relations postsurgery, 58.9% declared that their relations postoperatively were not inferior compared to those preoperatively. There was no statistically significant effect of the surgery type on relations with female partners (p = 0.619). CONCLUSION: The magnitude of disfigurement caused by surgical treatment of penile cancer had a significant impact on the selected QoL domains assessed by the EORTC QLQ C-30 questionnaire. There was no correlation between the scope of surgical intervention and partner relations.

Basic issues concerning health-related quality of life.

INTRODUCTION: Chronic diseases such as cancer have a strong influence on both physical health and quality of life, which together comprise the concept of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) - in other words, the complete state of physical, social, and psychological functioning. Herein, we review the literature on the theory of HRQoL in relation to oncological diseases. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A literature search of English-language publications that included an analysis of the conceptual models of HRQoL was performed using PubMed. The data were screened and synthesized by all authors and relevant papers were selected. RESULTS: We outline the theoretical models most often used to conceptualize HRQoL, including the Centre for Health Promotion model from the University of Toronto, the conceptual model of Wilson and Cleary and the contextual model of Ashing-Giwa formulated specifically for cancer patients. CONCLUSIONS: Understanding the theoretical basis of HRQoL is indispensable for valid research in this area.

Anxiety and depression and cognitive coping strategies and health locus of control in patients with ovary and uterus cancer during anticancer therapy.

AIM OF THE STUDY: The crisis associated with cancer may contribute to the development of anxiety and depressive disorders. Contemporary psycho-oncology focuses on the psychological determinants of the cancer patients functioning to find which disease-coping strategies help the healing process, facilitate the establishment of a good therapeutic relationship and the process of adapting to difficult situations. Aim of the study was assess the psychological functioning of patients with cancer of reproductive organs in the cancer-treating process. The practical aim was to develop guidelines for psychological care dedicated to this group of patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study was conducted in the Reproductive Organs Cancer Clinic in Institute of Oncology in Warsaw using a questionnaire consisting of: Demographic, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Multidimentional Health Locus of Control (MHLC), Cognitive Emotions Regulations Questionaire (CERQ). RESULTS: Seventy-eight patients aged 22 to 82 (average 54) were examined. Investigation of relationships between anxiety and depression and coping strategies showed: positive correlation of anxiety with self blame and rumination, positive correlation of anxiety and depression with catastrophizing, positive correlation of depression with blaming others, negative correlation of anxiety and depression with acceptance and positive refocusing, negative correlation of depression with refocus of planning and putting into perspective. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study indicate that there may be an indirect method of diagnosing anxiety and depression disorders in cancer patients by observing the coping strategies to cope with the difficult situation.