Quality Of LIfe in COLon cancer (QoLiCOL)

The aim of the present study is to explore QoL preoperatively, after 1, 2 and 5 years to explore and identify symptoms and problems of QoL in colon cancer patients.

Hypotheses

As this is an exploratory study many hypotheses have been developed:

-       A colon cancer diagnosis may affect quality of life.

-       Quality of life may not necessarily be lower in patients with an advanced colon cancer compared to patients with a localized tumour.

-       A questionnaire with longitudinal follow-up may detect differences in patient expectations and experiences over time.

-       Complications associated with colon cancer treatment may affect quality of life as well as the socioeconomic situation for the patient.

-       Preoperative quality of life may affect coping strategies and quality of life 1, 2 and 5 years after initiated colon cancer treatment.

-       Patient expectation of cure of the colon cancer influences QoL.

-       Gender, age and education level may influence QoL during treatment and follow up.

Endpoints

Primary:

  • The primary end-point is to describe QoL, symptoms and functional impairments in an unselected population of colon cancer patients

Secondary:

  • Generate basic descriptive data of the patient population, such as demography, socioeconomic data, disease stage at diagnosis, type of treatment, recurrence and survival.
  • Compare differences in QoL between patients with different tumour levels.
  • Detect differences in QoL in patients over time after colon cancer treatment.
  • Evaluate the effect of complications after colon cancer surgery on the patients socioeconomic situation.
  • Evaluate the effect of coping strategies on QoL after initiated treatment.
  • Describe patient expectations at diagnosis of colon cancer.
  • Identify differences in QoL between patients in different groups regarding gender, age and education level.
  • Analyse how clinical factors like oncologic result of operation, morbidity, recurrence and survival influence QoL.
  • Identify areas of improvement in treatment and patient care.
  • Enable initiation interventional studies when appropriate.
  • Analyse health economy aspects of QoL and morbidity in the patient population.

Inclusion/exclusion

Inclusion criteria:

  • All patients presenting at the participating hospitals with a newly diagnosed colon cancer, regardless of stage at diagnosis and treatment, will be eligible for inclusion.

Exclusion criteria:

  • Age below18 years at diagnosis.
  • No informed consent received or withdrawal of informed consent.

Inclusion of patients:

Aiming at including 1500 patients.

Documents

Protocol (click on name to view/download): QoLiCOL

Contact

Principal investigator:

Eva Angenete

Deputy principal investigator:

Eva Haglind

Questions:

PI Eva Angenete (eva.angenete@gu.se) or research nurse Elisabeth González (elisabeth.gonzales@vgregion.se)