Quality of life in patients with ovarian cancer: Current state of research

Ovarian cancer is the most malignant cancer in women, where it is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related death. The disease and its treatment have considerable effects on the quality of life of patients with this cancer. This study reviews existing literature on quality of life in patients with ovarian cancer to demonstrate the importance of the topic, to comment on improvements achieved and to consider their implications for the implementation of optimal treatment. A literature search was carried out through MEDLINE and of published papers on quality of life in patients with ovarian cancer from 1976 to 1994. Twenty papers have been reviewed, of which, 10 were treatment-related assessments of quality of life and the remaining 10 dealt with different topics including psychometric issues in measuring health-related quality of life. Twenty-four instruments were employed to measure quality of life. Of these, the Rotterdam Symptom Checklist (RSCL) and The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Core Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) were found to be the most appropriate. Although meta-analysis of results is impossible, it appears that debulking surgery followed by platinum-based chemotherapy could improve both quality of life and survival. In addition to effective and efficient treatment, psychological counselling, palliative and home care, nutritional support and pain relief are the most important areas for improving quality of life of patients with ovarian cancer. Knowledge and insight into the quality of life of patients with ovarian cancer are still limited, and a large carefully planned international study is required. Use of existing standard measures is preferable and agreement should be reached on a selected single instrument.