Stephen E. and Catherine Pappas Center for Neuro-Oncology, Massachusetts General Hospital, 55 Fruit Street--YAW 9E, Boston, Massachusetts 02114, USA.
Adv Exp Med Biol. 2010;678:21-5. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4419-6306-2_5.
Health-related quality of life for patients with high-grade gliomas has always been poor. The multiple insults to the brain-tumor existence and surgical procedures, irradiation, the level of stress and anxiety suffered and the adjuvant medications--steroids and anti-convulsants, all combine to diminish their health-related quality of life. Prior to the development of chemotherapy agents capable of penetrating the blood brain barrier, prognosis was 6 to 18 months. Life expectancy was short and there was little time to address the health-related quality of life. The newer agents have served to extend life, but have added another condition to the existing poor health-related quality of life, i.e., chemo brain. Chemo brain affects all cognitive function. The patients have great difficulty processing information. They have reduced attentional and concentration capability and cannot learn new information. The overall impact on their lives renders them unemployable and places a great burden on their families and on society. This chapter provides an overview of the patient experience and the burden placed on their families and on society.
对于高级别脑胶质瘤患者，其健康相关的生活质量一直较差。脑肿瘤的存在和手术、放疗、所承受的压力和焦虑水平以及辅助药物（类固醇和抗惊厥药）等多重因素加在一起，降低了他们的健康相关生活质量。在能够穿透血脑屏障的化疗药物发展之前，预后为 6 至 18 个月。预期寿命较短，几乎没有时间来解决健康相关的生活质量问题。新型药物延长了患者的生命，但在现有的较差健康相关生活质量的基础上又增加了另一种情况，即化疗脑。化疗脑会影响所有认知功能。患者在处理信息方面存在很大困难。他们的注意力和集中力降低，无法学习新的信息。对他们生活的整体影响使他们无法就业，并给他们的家庭和社会带来巨大负担。本章概述了患者的体验以及他们的家庭和社会所承受的负担。
