A substantial number of individuals who have had a diagnosis of cancer experience ongoing poor health and well being following cancer treatment, found a study published in the British Journal of Cancer.

In the US and Europe, cancer survival has been improving steadily over the last 30 years, with the five year survival rate now approaching 50% for all patients. The result is a longer disease trajectory with increasingly unpredictable health outcomes for individuals, with calls for a greater focus to be placed on the needs of cancer survivors.

In the study Jessica  Corner and colleagues,  from the University of Southampton, UK, set out to  compare  health and disability among UK cancer survivors with a sample of the UK population who have not had cancer or any other serious chronic conditions, and also with people with other chronic diseases.

Altogether  4892 individuals aged 30 years or older were recruited to the survey, including 780 individuals  with a previous cancer diagnosis, 1372 individuals with one or more of 10 chronic diseases (excluding cancer), and 2740 individuals without a previous cancer diagnosis or chronic condition. Thirteen measures of health and well-being were constructed from answers to 25 survey items covering physical, psychological and social dimensions of health and well-being.

Results show that cancer survivors were significantly more likely to report poor health outcomes across all 13 measures than subjects with no history of cancer or a chronic conditions. The adjusted odds ratios for cancer survivors with no chronic conditions compared with healthy participants ranged from 1.37 for emotional well-being to 3.34 for the number of health professionals consulted over the last 12 months. Health profiles of cancer survivors were found to be similar to those of participants with histories of  serious chronic health conditions.

“The study reveals that cancer survivors appear to have ongoing health problems, reporting poor general health, physical well-being and pain,” write the authors.  The differences they add, extend beyond health per se and into social and economic dimensions of life, including the ability to work in a preferred occupation.

 “There is a need to understand in detail the immediate and late consequences of cancer treatment on individuals, as well as the inter-relationship between cancer treatment and pre-existing or subsequent development of comorbidiites,” write the authors.

Reference

J Elliott, A Fallows, L Staetsky et al, The health and well-being of cancer survivors in the UK: findings from a population-based study. British Journal of Cancer 2011, 105, S11-S20. DOI: 10.1038/bjc.2011.418