Medical Institute, The Jan Grodek State University in Sanok, 38-500 Sanok, Poland.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Nov 11;17(22):8325. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17228325.
Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women. Due to the large number of women living with breast cancer and the increasing incidence of this cancer, it is very important to understand the factors determining the quality of life (QOL) of patients.
The aim of the study was to determine the impact of time to initiation of treatment on the quality of life of women with breast cancer.
The study involved 324 women with breast cancer, treated at the Podkarpackie Oncology Centre in Brzozów, Poland. The study was conducted using a diagnostic survey, using a standardised questionnaire to measure the quality of life of women treated for breast cancer, i.e., the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC) QLQ-C30 and the QLQ-BR23 module, as well as a proprietary survey questionnaire. Statistical analysis was performed using the Statistica 10.0 software (StatSoft Inc., 2011). A value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.
The examined women had a reduced overall quality of life and health (M = 53.88). The quality of life was higher in women who consulted a doctor the earliest after noticing initial symptoms of the disease, i.e., up to one week (M = 57.58), compared to patients who delayed the decision (over four weeks; M = 47.8) ( 0.002). The quality of life was also considered higher by women who received treatment within two weeks of diagnosis (M = 56.79) and was lower for patients who waited for treatment for more than two months (M = 43.68). Statistically significant relationships were demonstrated for functional scales and disease intensity.
Women diagnosed with breast cancer had a considerably lower overall quality of life. A relatively higher quality of life was experienced by patients who consulted a doctor the earliest after discovering symptoms of the disease and those whose waiting time for treatment was shorter. In a systematic manner, the individual stages of diagnosis should be maximally reduced and breast cancer treatment initiated without delay.
乳腺癌是女性最常见的恶性肿瘤。由于有大量的女性患有乳腺癌，且这种癌症的发病率不断增加，因此了解决定患者生活质量（QOL）的因素非常重要。
本研究旨在确定治疗开始时间对乳腺癌患者生活质量的影响。
该研究纳入了 324 名在波兰布热佐夫省的波德科拉帕茨克肿瘤中心接受治疗的乳腺癌女性患者。研究采用诊断性调查，使用标准化问卷来衡量接受乳腺癌治疗的女性的生活质量，即欧洲癌症研究与治疗组织生活质量问卷（EORTC）QLQ-C30 和 QLQ-BR23 模块，以及一份专用调查问卷。统计分析使用 Statistica 10.0 软件（StatSoft Inc.，2011 年）进行。 值<0.05 被认为具有统计学意义。
接受检查的女性整体生活质量和健康状况下降（M=53.88）。最早在注意到疾病初始症状后一周内就诊的女性（M=57.58）比延迟就诊的女性（超过四周；M=47.8）生活质量更高（ 0.002）。在诊断后两周内接受治疗的女性生活质量也被认为更高（M=56.79），而等待治疗超过两个月的患者生活质量较低（M=43.68）。在功能量表和疾病严重程度方面显示出统计学显著关系。
诊断出患有乳腺癌的女性整体生活质量明显较低。最早发现疾病症状并尽快就诊以及等待治疗时间较短的患者生活质量相对较高。应该以系统的方式最大程度地减少诊断的各个阶段，并尽快开始乳腺癌治疗。
