|
 
Last update: |
 |
|
|
09-Mar-2021
|
 |
|
|
Arch Hellen Med, 38(2), March-April 2021, 200-206 ORIGINAL PAPER The association of demographic and clinical characteristics with the quality of life of patients with melanoma M. Theodorakopoulou,1 O. Govina,2 O. Kastana,3 D. Tsoutsos,4 G. Zorbas,4 K. Douli,4 C. Aggeli,5 I. Kalemikerakis2 |
OBJECTIVE Investigation of the effect of demographic and clinical characteristics on the quality of life (QoL) of patients suffering from melanoma after surgery for removal of the lesion and during follow-up.
METHOD The participants were a convenience sample of patients with melanoma who attended the melanoma clinic for the follow-up procedure after surgical removal of the malignancy, with or without complementary treatment. The study instrument was the SF-36 questionnaire, validated in the Greek language, administered by self-completion by the participants. The study lasted from June to September 2018 and included a total of 152 patients (95% response rate).
RESULTS The overall QoL was negatively correlated with age (p=0.000). The scores on both the physical and mental components of the scale showed correlation with gender, with women showing poorer quality of life than men (p=0.001 and p=0.003, respectively). Negative correlation was registered between scores on components of scale and the number of surgeries (p=0.000), chemotherapy received (p≤0.003) and comorbidity (p≤0.004). Overall quality of life was shown to have positive correlation with educational level (p<0.001), and only the physical component was correlated with the time elapsed since surgery (p=0.02).
CONCLUSIONS Among patients following surgery for melanoma, an increased risk of poor QoL was observed in female patients, patients who had undergone multiple surgeries and those with comorbidity. A high educational level and longer time after surgery were factors that associated with enhanced QoL.
Key words: Melanoma, Patient characteristics, Quality of life.
