Factors associated with quality of life of individuals with advanced non-small cell lung cancer during chemotherapy

• Main Authors: Yu Ting Su, 蘇于婷
• Other Authors: C. N. Chen
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2017
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/4355js

碩士 === 長庚大學 === 物理治療學系 === 105 === Background: Chemotherapy is the primary treatment for individuals with advanced-stage lung cancer but it often comes with side effects such as fatigue, loss of appetite, respiratory problems, cough and pain. Fatigue in cancer patients is found to be associated with heart rate variation (HRV). In addition to cancer related symptoms, chemotherapy-induced side effects also have impact on patients’ quality of life (QoL). However, few studies have comprehensively investigated factors associated with QoL individuals with advanced non-small cell lung cancer during chemotherapy. Aim: to identify factors associated with QoL in individuals with advanced non-small cell lung cancer during chemotherapy. Methods: Fourteen patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer were recruited in this study. All participants received three assessments at pre-diagnosis (T1), and 6 weeks (T2) and 12 weeks (T3) after chemotherapy. The measurements included QoL, nutritional status, pulmonary function, HRV, blood parameters, physical activity level and physical performance (grip strength, six-minutes walking test, two-minutes step test, up-and-go test, curl arm and five times sit to stand). One way repeated measure ANOVA was used to examine the changes of outcome variables. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to examine correlation between variables. Alpha level was set at 0.05 for all analyses. Results: The general score of QoL did not change significantly during chemotherapy. Regarding the correlation between variables, nutrition status was positively correlated with well-being of QoL of physical, functional, lung cancer symptoms and fatigue; physical fitness was positively correlated with general score of QoL; pulmonary function was not correlated with any aspect of QoL; HRV in deep-breathing was negatively correlated with general score of QoL and monocyte content in the blood was negatively correlated with social well-being of QoL. Conclusion: QoL of individuals with advanced lung cancer during chemotherapy is associated with their nutritional status and physical fitness.