Open AccessQuality of life after treatment for rectal cancer
Author(s) -
CamilleriBrennan J.,
Steele R. J. C.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
british journal of surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.202
H-Index - 201
eISSN - 1365-2168
pISSN - 0007-1323
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2168.1998.00808.x
Subject(s) - medicine , quality of life (healthcare) , medline , colorectal cancer , prospective cohort study , cancer , intensive care medicine , relevance (law) , surgery , nursing , political science , law
Background The studies on patient‐reported symptoms and quality of life following the treatment of rectal cancer were evaluated; guidelines for future quality of life studies in this field are proposed. Methods Relevant papers in the English language were identified via Medline from January 1970 to November 1997, supplemented by a manual search for similar articles. Results Patients suffer various short‐ and long‐term complications after treatment of rectal cancer, although the reported prevalence of such problems varies from study to study. Recent prospective studies have shown that, despite these problems, global quality of life scores as measured by generic questionnaires improve after surgery. Conclusion The methodological shortcomings of previous work must be rectified if quality of life studies are to have relevance in patient management. © 1998 British Journal of Surgery Society Ltd