Table 2.
Summary of literature describing quality of life in patients with BM receiving treatment and their caregivers.
| References | Design and sample size | QoL scale(s) | Findings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wong et al. (53) | Prospective, n = 217 | KPS, QLQ-C30, QLQ-C15-PAL, QLQ-BN20, FACT-BR, Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale, Spitzer Quality of Life | • In a 12-week study period, fatigue, drowsiness, and appetite deteriorated from baseline at statistically significant level |
| • Appetite loss, weakness, and nausea significantly increased from baseline, while balance, headache, and anxiety decreased from baseline | |||
| • At baseline all symptoms assessed (e.g., nausea, pain, insomnia, concentration) except for appetite loss were significantly correlated with overall QoL | |||
| Steinmann et al. (54) | Prospective, n = 46 | QLQ-C30, QLQ-BN20, DEGRO-LQ | • Global QoL remained stable in 3-month study period |
| • Overall physical functioning deteriorated in the 3-month study period at a statistically significant level. | |||
| • There was a statistically significant deterioration in drowsiness, hair loss, and weakness but headaches and seizures improved | |||
| Doyle et al. (55) | Prospective, n = 60 patient/ caregiver pairs | FACT-BR | • In 2-month study period after WBRT, the physical wellbeing domain had the greatest absolute deterioration (statistically significant level) |
| Wong et al. (56) | Prospective, n = 129 | Spitzer Quality of Life | • After WBRT, daily living, health, and headache improved in 12.2, 21.1, and 18.9% of patients, respectively |
| • After WBRT, 56.7% of patients had worsened fatigue and 53.3% had poor neurofunctioning status | |||
| Caissie et al. (57) | Prospective, n = 108 | QLQ-C15-PAL, QLQ-BN20 | • Following WBRT, insomnia, future uncertainty, visual disorder, and concentration significantly improved |
| • There was a decrease in physical function and increase in emotional functioning | |||
| Mulvenna et al. (58) | RCT, n = 538 (269 WBRT + OSC, 269 OSC alone) | EQ-5D | • There was no evidence of a difference in QoL between patients receiving WBRT + OSC and OSC alone |
| • There is an increase in symptoms in patients after receiving WBRT (increased drowsiness, hair loss, nausea, and dry or itchy scalp) | |||
| DiBiase et al. (59) | Prospective, n = 20 | Spitzer Quality of Life | • Extracranial tumor progression after GKRS is associated with worsened Spitzer QoL score, whereas in patients with stable or improved tumor control, Spitzer scores increased |
| Skeie et al. (60) | Prospective, n = 97 | FACT-BR | • For 66% of patients, mean QoL score improved at 9 months after SRS, and remained unchanged for 6% of patients |
| • Local control, improved symptoms, and reduced need for steroids after GKRS is associated with higher QoL | |||
| • Low QoL is associated with local failure, increased need for steroids, and progression of the peripheral disease | |||
| Habets et al. (61) | Prospective, n = 97 | QLQ-C30, QLQ-BN20 | • Physical functioning and fatigue worsened at 6 months after SRT |
| • KPS <90 and tumor volume > 12.6 cm3 were associated with lower QoL scores at 6 months after SRT | |||
| Verhaak et al. (62) | Cross-sectional, n = 92 | FACT-BR, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Multidisciplinary Fatigue Inventory | • Compared to the general population and adult cancer patients, BM patients had lower QoL scores for emotional wellbeing and most (57.6%) of patients reported problems with emotional wellbeing |
| • Compared to the general population, patients with BM had poorer functional wellbeing, and general QoL before treatment | |||
| • Compared to the general population, BM patients had higher social wellbeing scores | |||
| Bragstad et al. (63) | Prospective, n = 44 | FACT-BR | • 12 months after GKS, physical, social, emotional, and functional wellbeing average remained unchanged from baseline |
| • Asymptomatic BMs at baseline, higher KPS score, and lower RPA classes were associated with higher QoL after GKS, whereas age, sex, number of BMs, prior treatment, SRS dose, extent of peritumoral edema, mutation status, and baseline metastases to other sites did not predict QoL | |||
| Salvati et al. (64) | Retrospective, n = 62 (32 multiple metastases, 30 with a single metastases) | KPS | • Preoperative KPS in patients with multiple metastases was 83.1 vs. 82.3 in patients with single metastases |
| Saria et al. (39) | Descriptive cross-sectional, n = 56 caregivers of patients with BM | NA | • Caregivers most commonly deployed the following coping strategies against cognitive dysfunction in their relatives: acceptance, planning, positive reinterpretation and growth |
| Papadakos et al. (65) | Cross-sectional, n = 109 patients with BM and 77 caregivers | NA | • The most important information patients and caregivers want belongs to the medical and physical health domains (e.g., symptoms, side effects, cognitive impairment) |
| • Caregivers prefer one-on-one counseling for all informational domains, including medical, physical, emotional, social, and spiritual informational needs |