Bulletin
of the Multinational Center
of Quality of Life Research № 9-10

A.A. Novik, T.I. Ionova, S.A. Kalyadina, A.V. Kishtovich , A.S. Barchuk , A.V. Vazhenin, A.B. Yezhov, M.V. Kopp, V.M. Matrosov, F.F. Mufazamov, A.A. Miasnikov, T.V. Chagorova, M.V. Shomova, A.I.Arseniev, M.I. Afanasiev, A.E. Bannikova, E.S. Beklemisheva, N.V. Blomkvist, Y.K. Lebedeva, N.V. Malakhova, A.V.Pankova, I.V. Rykov, V.V. Chernova, E.A. Shipitzin, Sh. Wang, Ch. Cleeland

Quality of life and symptoms in patients with advanced solid tumors and hematological malignancies: results of epidemiological symptom study

National epidemiological symptom study was conducted in Russia in 2005-2006. The aims of this study were to describe the prevalence and severity of symptoms in patients with advanced cancer and hematological malignancies, to monitor them and to describe their interference with quality of life as well to determine approaches to symptom treatment and to identify main obstacles to efficacy of symptom control in different cancer entities.
500 advanced cancer patients from 11 cities of Russian Federation were included in the study. As a result, fatigue is the most prevalent and severe symptom in advanced cancer patients and hematological malignancies; 85% of patients experienced this symptom.
The other severe and prevalent symptoms- distress, sadness, sleep disturbance, pain, and loss of appetite - were present in 70% of patients. More than two thirds of patients reported their symptoms at moderate-to-severe levels, in addition 12% had 7 or more moderate-to-severe symptoms.
The grade of quality of life impairment depends on symptom number and their severity. Even a small number of moderate-to-severe symptoms lead to severe or critical quality of life impairment in the majority of cancer patients with advanced cancer.