Health-Related Quality of Life in Patients with Cancer in India: A Systematic Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.55489/njcm.150720244063Keywords:
Cancer, Health-related Quality of life (HRQoL), India, World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL)Abstract
Introduction: Cancer poses numerous health-related threats to patients, significantly impacting their Quality of Life (QoL) and that of their caregivers. This systematic review aims to assess the prevalence and severity of QoL-related health issues among cancer survivors in India using the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL) framework. The review will explore the patients’ lived experiences that will ultimately manifest the importance of health-related QoL for cancer patients.
Method: The PRISMA guidelines were followed to conduct the review. PubMed, Embase, and Scopus were searched for eligible studies, resulting in the inclusion of 34 quantitative descriptive studies focusing on adult cancer patients in India.
Results: Most of the included studies reported low or below-average overall QoL of the patients. Factors such as pain, fatigue, emotional distress, social relationships, and financial burden significantly influenced overall QoL and its subdomains. Demographic factors (age, marital status, religion), cancer-related variables (stage, site, treatment type), and social determinants of health (education, information access) also played roles in affecting QoL. Due to study inconsistencies, conclusive comparisons were challenging.
Conclusion: The findings underscore the necessity for a comprehensive, culturally adapted approach to enhancing QoL, along with the development of standardized assessment tools and longitudinal study designs.
References
Bray F, Laversanne M, Sung H, et al. Global cancer statistics 2022: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA: a cancer journal for clinicians. Apr 4 2024. Doi: https://doi.org/10.3322/caac.21834 PMid:38572751
Sathishkumar K, Chaturvedi M, Das P, Stephen S, Mathur P. Cancer incidence estimates for 2022 & projection for 2025: Result from National Cancer Registry Programme, India. The Indian journal of medical research. Oct-Nov 2022;156(4&5):598-607. Doi: https://doi.org/10.4103/ijmr.ijmr_1821_22 PMid:36510887 PMCid:PMC10231735
Mathur P, Sathishkumar K, Chaturvedi M, et al. Cancer Statistics, 2020: Report From National Cancer Registry Programme, India. JCO Global Oncology. 2020(6):1063-1075. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1200/GO.20.00122 PMid:32673076 PMCid:PMC7392737
Nayak MG, George A, Vidyasagar MS, et al. Quality of Life among Cancer Patients. Indian journal of palliative care. Oct-Dec 2017;23(4):445-450. Doi: https://doi.org/10.4103/IJPC.IJPC_82_17 PMid:29123353 PMCid:PMC5661349
Alam MM, Rahman T, Afroz Z, et al. Quality of Life (QoL) of cancer patients and its association with nutritional and performance status: A pilot study. Heliyon. Oct 2020;6(10):e05250. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e05250 PMid:33134577 PMCid:PMC7586095
Dixit J, Gupta N, Kataki A, et al. Health-related quality of life and its determinants among cancer patients: evidence from 12,148 patients of Indian database. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes. 2024/03/13 2024;22(1):26. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12955-024-02227-0 PMid:38481231 PMCid:PMC10938809
Paraskevi T. Quality of life outcomes in patients with breast cancer. Oncology reviews. Mar 5 2012;6(1):e2. Doi: https://doi.org/10.4081/oncol.2012.e2 PMid:25992204 PMCid:PMC4419638
World Health O. Programme on mental health : WHOQOL user manual. Geneva: World Health Organization; 1998 1998.
Qan'ir Y, Guan T, Idiagbonya E, et al. Quality of life among patients with cancer and their family caregivers in the Sub-Saharan region: A systematic review of quantitative studies. PLOS global public health. 2022;2(3):e0000098. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0000098 PMid:36962119 PMCid:PMC10021310
Page MJ, McKenzie JE, Bossuyt PM, et al. The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ (Clinical research ed.). Mar 29 2021;372:n71. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n71 PMid:33782057 PMCid:PMC8005924
Ouzzani M, Hammady H, Fedorowicz Z, Elmagarmid A. Rayyan-a web and mobile app for systematic reviews. Systematic reviews. Dec 5 2016;5(1):210. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-016-0384-4 PMid:27919275 PMCid:PMC5139140
Hong QN, Fàbregues S, Bartlett G, et al. The Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) version 2018 for information professionals and researchers. Education for Information. 2018;34:285-291. Doi: https://doi.org/10.3233/EFI-180221
Skevington SM, Sartorius N, Amir M, and The W-G. Developing methods for assessingquality of life in different cultural settings. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. 2004/01/01 2004;39(1):1-8. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-004-0700-5 PMid:15022040
Haddaway NR, Page MJ, Pritchard CC, McGuinness LA. PRISMA2020: An R package and Shiny app for producing PRISMA 2020-compliant flow diagrams, with interactivity for optimised digital transparency and Open Synthesis. Campbell Systematic Reviews. 2022/06/01 2022;18(2):e1230. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/cl2.1230 PMid:36911350 PMCid:PMC8958186
Sarkar S, Sahoo PK, Pal R, et al. Assessment of quality of life among advanced ovarian cancer patients in a tertiary care hospital in India. Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer. Apr 2022;30(4):3371-3378. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-021-06735-3 PMid:34988703
Asthana S, Bhatia S, Dhoundiyal R, Labani SP, Garg R, Bhatnagar S. Quality of life and needs of the Indian advanced cancer patients receiving palliative care. Cancer Research, Statistics, and Treatment. 2019;2(2):138-144. Doi: https://doi.org/10.4103/CRST.CRST_61_19
Kamatchinathan P, Kaja N, Muthuraman V, Antharaju Y, Kumar M, Varadharajan U. Psychological Analysis of Oral Cancer Patients during Pre-operative Period in South Indian Population: A Prospective, Quantitative, Multicentre Study. Journal of clinical and diagnostic research : JCDR. Oct 2016;10(10):Zc72-zc74. Doi: https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2016/21491.8654 PMid:27891463 PMCid:PMC5121809
Somanna SN, Sastry NB, Chaluvarayaswamy R, Malila N. Quality of life and Its Determinants among Cervical Cancer Patients in South India. Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP. Aug 1 2022;23(8):2727-2733. Doi: https://doi.org/10.31557/APJCP.2022.23.8.2727 PMid:36037127 PMCid:PMC9741907
Deb Barma M, Indiran MA, Kumar RP, Balasubramaniam A, Kumar MPS. Quality of life among head and neck cancer treated patients in South India: A cross-sectional study. Journal of oral biology and craniofacial research. Apr-Jun 2021;11(2):215-218. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobcr.2021.02.002 PMid:33665070 PMCid:PMC7900579
Singh GK, Varghese L, Menon N, Dale O, Patil VM. Cancer-related fatigue and its impact on quality of life in patients with central nervous system tumors: A cross-sectional analysis. Cancer Research, Statistics, and Treatment. 2021;4(1):44-49. Doi: https://doi.org/10.4103/crst.crst_364_20
Gandhi AK, Roy S, Thakar A, Sharma A, Mohanti BK. Symptom Burden and Quality of Life in Advanced Head and Neck Cancer Patients: AIIMS Study of 100 Patients. Indian journal of palliative care. Sep 2014;20(3):189-193. Doi: https://doi.org/10.4103/0973-1075.138389 PMid:25191005 PMCid:PMC4154165
S P, G K I, S G. Quality of Life of Women with Breast Cancer at the Time of Diagnosis in New Delhi. Journal of Cancer Science & Therapy. 2011;2011.
Ramasubbu SK, Pasricha RK, Nath UK, Rawat VS, Das B. Quality of life and factors affecting it in adult cancer patients undergoing cancer chemotherapy in a tertiary care hospital. Cancer reports (Hoboken, N.J.). Apr 2021;4(2):e1312. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/cnr2.1312 PMid:33295136 PMCid:PMC8451381
Kumar A, Sahu SK, Karunanithi G, Laksham KB. Treatment Seeking Behavior, Treatment Cost and Quality of Life of Head and Neck Cancer Patients: A Cross-Sectional Analytical Study from South India. Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP. Sep 1 2021;22(9):3023-3030. Doi: https://doi.org/10.31557/APJCP.2021.22.9.3023 PMid:34582675 PMCid:PMC8850892
Jacob J, Palat G, Verghese N, et al. Health-related quality of life and its socio-economic and cultural predictors among advanced cancer patients: evidence from the APPROACH cross-sectional survey in Hyderabad-India. BMC palliative care. Nov 5 2019;18(1):94. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-019-0465-y PMid:31690311 PMCid:PMC6833246
Sudarisan SSP, Abraham B, George C. Prevalence, correlates of depression, and its impact on quality of life of cancer patients attending a palliative care setting in South India. Psycho-oncology. Jun 2019;28(6):1308-1313. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.5083 PMid:30950122
Joad ASK, Hota A, Agarwal P, et al. "I want to live, but …" the desire to live and its physical, psychological, spiritual, and social factors among advanced cancer patients: evidence from the APPROACH study in India. BMC palliative care. Aug 31 2022;21(1):153. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-022-01041-z PMid:36045352 PMCid:PMC9429624
Kannan G, Rani V, Ananthanarayanan RM, et al. Assessment of quality of life of cancer patients in a tertiary care hospital of South India. Journal of cancer research and therapeutics. Jul-Sep 2011;7(3):275-279. Doi: https://doi.org/10.4103/0973-1482.87013 PMid:22044807
Dubashi B, Vidhubala E, Cyriac S, Sagar TG. Quality of life among younger women with breast cancer: study from a tertiary cancer institute in south India. Indian journal of cancer. Apr-Jun 2010;47(2):142-147. Doi: https://doi.org/10.4103/0019-509X.63005 PMid:20448376
Gupta B, Kumar N, Johnson NW. Predictors affecting quality of life in patients with upper aerodigestive tract cancers: a case-control study from India. Oral surgery, oral medicine, oral pathology and oral radiology. May 2017;123(5):550-558. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oooo.2017.01.013 PMid:28407983
Kaur N, Gupta A, Sharma AK, Jain A. Survivorship issues as determinants of quality of life after breast cancer treatment: Report from a limited resource setting. Breast (Edinburgh, Scotland). Oct 2018;41:120-126. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.breast.2018.07.003 PMid:30029054
Shaheed R, Shukla S, Acharya S, Gopal KSU, Acharya N. Journey from Fighters to Survivors: Quality of Life and Mental Status in Cancer Patients in a Rural Tertiary Care Hospital. JOURNAL OF CLINICAL AND DIAGNOSTIC RESEARCH. 07/18 2019;13:XC01-XC04. Doi: https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2019/41982.13065
Khanum RS, D SK, Verma SK, R NM. Assessment of quality of life among cancer patients in a cancer care center of Mysuru. International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health. 08/27 2021;8(9):4470-4474. Doi: https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20213554
Sunderam S, Kashyap V, Singh SB, Kumar M. Study on Quality Of Life of Cancer Patients In Relation To Treatment Modality in a Tertiary Health Institute of Jharkhand2016.
Gangane N, Khairkar P, Hurtig AK, San Sebastián M. Quality of Life Determinants in Breast Cancer Patients in Central Rural India. Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP. Dec 29 2017;18(12):3325-3332.
Khandelwal A, Neeli A, Gadiyar A, Khandelwal A. Assessment of quality of life of patients 1-5 years after treatment for oral cancer. Indian journal of dental research : official publication of Indian Society for Dental Research. Sep-Oct 2017;28(5):538-544. Doi: https://doi.org/10.4103/ijdr.IJDR_97_17 PMid:29072217
Kumar R, Pasricha R, Gupta MK, Ravi B. Psychosocial well-being and quality of life in women with breast cancer in foothills of North India. Journal of cancer research and therapeutics. Jul-Sep 2023;19(5):1176-1185. Doi: https://doi.org/10.4103/jcrt.jcrt_672_21 PMid:37787281
Parkar S, Sharma A, Shah M. Exploring quality of life among head-and-neck cancer patients in Western India using European organization for research and treatment of cancer questionnaires. Journal of cancer research and therapeutics. Jul-Sep 2022;18(4):990-996. Doi: https://doi.org/10.4103/jcrt.JCRT_450_20 PMid:36149151
Pathak N, Raj A, Santhosh AP, et al. Quality of life assessment in testicular non-seminomatous germ cell tumour survivors. Journal of cancer survivorship : research and practice. Jul 3 2023. Doi: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2540868/v1
Jain S, T S, Duraisamy S, et al. Vocation and Mobility as Significant Modifiable Determinants For Quality Of Life Among Oral And Throat Cancer Patients - A Hospital Based Study From Southern India. National Journal of Community Medicine. 04/01 2023;14:236-241. Doi: https://doi.org/10.55489/njcm.140420232724
Madan R, Dracham CB, Elangovan A, et al. Quality of Life Among Ovarian Cancer Survivors: A Tertiary Care Center Experience from India. Indian Journal of Gynecologic Oncology. 2021/01/05 2021;19(1):3. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40944-020-00491-8
Sultan A, Taj S, Choudhary V, Parganiha A. Predictive role of socio-demographic and chronotype on health-related quality of life of cancer patients from southeastern India. Biological Rhythm Research. 2022/04/03 2022;53(4):592-607. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/09291016.2020.1816050
Soni N, Banerjee J, Saravanan M, Rao AR, Upadhyay AD, Dey AB. Health-related quality of life in treatment-naive, older patients with cancer from India: A prospective observational study. Cancer Research, Statistics, and Treatment. 2022;5(3):474-481. Doi: https://doi.org/10.4103/crst.crst_177_22
Das Adhikari S, Pandit A, Pangaria B, Bhatnagar S. Quality of life of palliative care cancer patients during COVID-19 lockdown phase. Palliative Medicine in Practice. 12/28 2022;16:212-219. Doi: https://doi.org/10.5603/PMPI.a2022.0022
Kshirsagar AS, Wani SK. Health-related quality of life in patients with breast cancer surgery and undergoing chemotherapy in Ahmednagar district. Journal of cancer research and therapeutics. Oct-Dec 2021;17(6):1335-1338. Doi: https://doi.org/10.4103/jcrt.JCRT_154_19 PMid:34916362
Raghavan V, Avaronnan M, Shenoy P, Nair C. Health-related quality of life in patients with multiple myeloma on novel agents: Report from a tertiary cancer center in rural India. 10/12 2019.
Sowmya SKR, Thomas D, Zachariah S, Daniel Sunad A. Assessment of Adverse Events and Quality of Life of Cancer Patients in a Secondary Level Care, Rural Hospital in South India. Value in health regional issues. May 2013;2(1):103-106. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vhri.2013.01.011 PMid:29702837
Dar MA, Chauhan R, Trivedi V, Kumar R, Dhingra S. Assessing the Prevalence of Financial Toxicity, its Predictors and Association with Health- Related Quality of Life Among Radiation Oncology Patients in India: A Cross-Sectional Patient Reported Outcome Study. International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics. May 1 2023;116(1):157-165. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrobp.2022.11.040 PMid:36455689
Nayak MG, George A. Effectiveness of Symptom Management Intervention for Improving the QOL of Cancer Patients. Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP. Feb 1 2023;24(2):587-596. Doi: https://doi.org/10.31557/APJCP.2023.24.2.587 PMid:36853309 PMCid:PMC10162600
Chen S, Liu Y, Fong DYT, Zhou J, Chen H, Wan C. Health-related quality of life and its influencing factors in patients with breast cancer based on the scale QLICP-BR. Scientific reports. Sep 13 2023;13(1):15176. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-41809-8 PMid:37704676 PMCid:PMC10499782
Gayatri D, Efremov L, Kantelhardt EJ, Mikolajczyk R. Quality of life of cancer patients at palliative care units in developing countries: systematic review of the published literature. Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation. Feb 2021;30(2):315-343. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11136-020-02633-z PMid:32948975 PMCid:PMC7886760
Kung'u M, Onsongo L, Ogutu JO. Factors influencing quality of life among cancer survivors in Kenya. African health sciences. Dec 2022;22(4):87-95. Doi: https://doi.org/10.4314/ahs.v22i4.12 PMid:37092050 PMCid:PMC10117459
Amarsheda S, Bhise A. Association of Fatigue, Quality of Life and Functional Capacity in Breast Cancer Patients Receiving Adjuvant Chemotherapy. Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Care. 03/26 2021;6:59-64. Doi: https://doi.org/10.31557/apjcc.2021.6.1.59-64
Veeraiah S, Kayser K, Sudhakar R. Psychosocial factors influencing distress among cancer patients in South India. Journal of Psychosocial Oncology Research and Practice. 2022;4(1). Doi: https://doi.org/10.1097/OR9.0000000000000067
Lewandowska A, Rudzki G, Lewandowski T, et al. Quality of Life of Cancer Patients Treated with Chemotherapy. International journal of environmental research and public health. Sep 23 2020;17(19). Doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17196938 PMid:32977386 PMCid:PMC7579212
Cotogni P, De Carli L, Passera R, et al. Longitudinal study of quality of life in advanced cancer patients on home parenteral nutrition. Cancer medicine. Jul 2017;6(7):1799-1806. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/cam4.1111 PMid:28557362 PMCid:PMC5504329
Jain V, Sharma A. Development and Validation of Quality of Life Tool among Chemotherapy Patients: A Pilot Trial. Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research. 10/01 2022;16:11-14. Doi: https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2022/57199.16962
Senchak JJ, Fang CY, Bauman JR. Interventions to improve quality of life (QOL) and/or mood in patients with head and neck cancer (HNC): a review of the evidence. Cancers of the head & neck. 2019;4:2. Doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s41199-019-0041-4 PMid:31210980 PMCid:PMC6560898
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Thufail Korankulangara, Ajitha Katta, Mousami Kirtania, Dahy Sulaiman
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The authors retain the copyright of their article, with first publication rights granted to Medsci Publications.
