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Table 3 Quality-of-life characteristics by age

From: Patient age is related to decision-making, treatment selection, and perceived quality of life in breast cancer survivors

 

Age <50

Age 50-65

Age >65

P*

Mean (SD)

Mean (SD)

Mean (SD)

Global health status (2)

83.4 (19.8)

84.1 (18.3)

80.5 (17.5)

0.057

Physical functioning (5)

89.7 (16.5)

86.7 (17.8)

78.9 (21.3)

<0.001

Role functioning (2)

85.9 (27.4)

86.7 (24.4)

90.3 (18.0)

0.839

Body image (4)

69.7 (29.6)

82.8 (22.4)

90.4 (18.2)

<0.001

Sexual functioning (2)

38.8 (24.5)

27.6 (26.2)

16.2 (22.6)

<0.001

Sexual enjoyment (1)

56.7 (33.0)

45.6 (34.6)

31.5 (33.0)

<0.0002

Future perspective (1)

46.7 (34.9)

55.2 (32.0)

70.6 (28.3)

<0.001

Side effects from chemotherapy (8)#

17.3 (16.8)

16.0 (16.3)

13.3 (13.5)

0.107

Breast symptoms (4)#

15.7 (18.5)

15.7 (19.3)

10.7 (11.8)

0.210

Arm symptoms (3)#

17.0 (26.2)

13.1 (21.4)

8.4 (13.9)

0.135

Distress from loss of hair (3)#

9.8 (25.0)

17.2 (31.7)

19.4 (31.1)

0.092

QLQ-BR23 total (23)

75.1 (14.3)

78.1 (14.5)

82.3 (10.8)

<0.001

  1. Parentheses indicate number of questions asked in each subscale.
  2. #Symptom scales applied. *P values apply to comparison among all three age groups. SD represents standard deviation. Nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis tests were used for comparison.
  3. The survey results of the EORTC QLQ-C30 and BR23 subscales are shown here, stratified by age group. Overall, older patients reported a better quality of life after breast cancer therapy. Although younger patients with breast cancer reported better physical functioning, older patients had a better body image. All patients reported equivalent treatment-related side effects.