Treatment for cervical cancer can significantly affect a patient’s quality of life. The purpose of this research: to study the quality of life in patients with cervical cancer and to analyze the dependence of the quality of life indicators on radiation doses obtained when living in areas adjacent to the Semipalatinsk test site.
In this study, a survey was conducted of 20 patients (women aged 27 to 70 years, average age 52 years) who received chemoradiation therapy. The questionnaire to assess the quality of life, carried out after treatment, using the official versions of questionnaires EORTC QLQ-CX24. The QLQ-CX24 module includes functional and symptomatic scales. The assessment of individual radiation doses received while living in areas exposed to radioactive exposure was carried out in accordance with official guidelines.
The results obtained for functional scales: overall quality of life 78.4 ± 15.2, body image 80.2 ± 15.3, sexual activity 20.4 ± 19.5, sexual satisfaction 52.4 ± 18.3, sexual/vaginal functioning 42.6 ± 19.8 points. For symptomatic scales: symptoms 15.6 ± 12.8, lymphadenoma 12.9 ± 15.4, peripheral neuropathy 23.9 ± 14.7, menopausal symptoms 33.3 ± 28.4, sexual anxiety 32.4 ± 22.5 points.
Individual radiation doses received by patients while living in radioactively contaminated territories range from 1.06 to 36.11 cSv. For the study group, the relationship between indicators of quality of life and individual radiation doses have not been established. It is impossible to unequivocally affirm the absence of this dependence due to the insufficient number and heterogeneity of the studied group in a number of parameters.
A sufficiently high scale value indicates the overall quality of life reflects a good level of functioning. The rather low levels of the scales of symptoms, lymphedema, peripheral neuropathy indicate the severity of this symptomatology during preventive exposure to PALS. For the study group, the relationship between indicators of quality of life and individual radiation doses have not been established.