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Research Article
29 March 2019

Treatment of gynecological malignancies: long-term follow-up of health-related quality of life and healthcare costs

Authors: Kristiina Pynnä [email protected], Piia Vuorela, Pasi Aronen, Harri Sintonen, Tarja Vainiola, Arto Leminen, Risto P Roine, and Pirjo RäsänenAuthor Info & Affiliations
Publication: J. Comp. Eff. Res.
Volume 8, Number 7
https://doi.org/10.2217/cer-2018-0125
PDFFormats

Abstract

Aim: To assess long-term health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and treatment-related costs in gynecological cancer patients, and to compare HRQoL between cancer types and to age-standardized general female population. Materials & methods: A prospective 8–10-year follow-up of 218 patients treated in Helsinki University Hospital in 2002–2004. Results: The most common malignancies were uterine, ovarian and cervical cancers. The mean HRQoL scores were 0.880 (baseline), 0.885 (6 months) and 0.884 for survivors in the end of the study. Depression, vitality and sexual activity were impaired at baseline but improved during follow-up. Total secondary healthcare costs during the follow-up averaged EUR 41342. Conclusion: The long-term HRQoL of surviving gynecological cancer patients was good and similar to that of age-standardized general female population.

Supplementary Material

File (suppl_file.docx)

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