Table 4.
Meta‐analysis of HRQoL by SF‐36, FACT‐B, and the WHOQOL‐Bref instrument broken down by stage of the disease and treatment
| Domains | Global | Stages I, II, and III | Stage IV | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active treatment | Follow‐up | |||
| SF‐36 | ||||
| No. of studies (no. of patients) | 19 (1,675) | 2 (127) | 15 (1,384) | 1 (4) |
| Physical functioning | 67 (62.8–71.2) | 77.8 (56.7–98.9) | 71.3 (67–75.5) | 20.8 (8.3–33.3) |
| Role physical | 48.4 (34.9–61.9) | 51.4 (39.3–63.5) | 51.9 (35.3–68.6) | 12.5 (0–37) |
| Bodily pain | 59.7 (54.2–65.3) | 76.3 (67.4–85.2) | 60.1 (53.6–66.7) | 38.6 (3.5–73.7) |
| General health | 67.6 (64.9–70.3) | 68.2 (64–72.5) | 69.1 (66–72.2) | 38.7 (11.5–65.9) |
| Vitality | 63.8 (61.2–66.4) | 72.3 (67.9–76.8) | 64.1 (61.1–67.1) | 39.5 (6.7–72.3) |
| Social functioning | 72.7 (67.3–78.0) | 79.7 (67.1–92.2) | 78.3 (74.6–82) | 45 (40.6–49.4) |
| Role emotional | 61.8 (53.5–70.2) | 64.3 (58.9–69.8) | 67.5 (56.3–78.8) | 20.8 (0–45.3) |
| Mental health | 68.3 (66.2–70.3) | 69.7 (62.4–77) | 69.3 (66.9–71.6) | 45 (14.3–75.7) |
| FACT‐B | ||||
| No. of studies (no. of patients) | 11 (1,057) | 6 (529) | 2 (186) | 2 (24) |
| Physical well‐being | 20.8 (19.4–22.2) | 21.2 (19.8–22.6) | 17.5 (15.3–19.7) | 14.9 (6.5–23.4) |
|
Social/family well‐being |
19.4 (17.7–21.2) | 18.3 (15.6–20.9) | 21.8 (18.6–24.9) | 13.9 (2.1–25.8) |
|
Emotional well‐being |
17.2 (14.9–19.5) | 17.5 (16.3–18.7) | 11.8 (8–15.6) | 10.2 (8.1–12.4) |
|
Functional well‐being |
18.9 (17.2–20.6) | 17.9 (17.1–18.8) | 21 (17–24.9) | 12.7 (9.8–15.6) |
|
Breast cancer subscale |
23.1 (20.6–25.5) | 23.6 (22.3–24.8) | 16.1 (14–18.2) | 23.7 (13.1–34.3) |
| WHOQOL‐Bref a | ||||
| No. of studies (no. of patients) | 13 (1,436) | 4 (607) | 5 (333) | — |
| Global HRQoL | 67.3 (59.8–74.8) a | 69 (58.9–79.1) | NR | NR |
| Satisfaction with health | 67.9 (57.8–77.9) b | NR | NR | NR |
| Physical health | 59.8 (57.0–62.7) | 61.4 (56.8–65.9) | 59.2 (54.2–64.1) | NR |
| Psychological | 65.4 (61.4–69.3) | 63.8 (56.4–71.2) | 67.6 (62.6–72.6) | NR |
| Social relationships | 66.7 (60.9–72.4) | 68.9 (59.5–78.4) | 70.8 (65.4–76.2) | NR |
| Environment | 63.7 (61.2–66.4) | 62.2 (58.2–66.3) | 61.5 (56.7–66.3) | NR |
Data are shown as mean (95% confidence interval).
a
Only six studies (n = 713) report this domain.
b
Only two studies (n = 95) report this domain.
Abbreviations: —, no equivalent domain was identified; FACT‐B, Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy – Breast; HRQoL, health‐related quality of life; NR, not reported by any of the included studies; SF‐36, Short Form 36‐item; WHOQOL‐Bref, abbreviated version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life.