The comparison of quality of life and its related factors between gynecological cancer survivors and healthy women

Background: In the recent years, the survival rates of gynecological cancer patients have been increasing due to advances in the screening and treatment. How to live with the cancer becomes a great challenge for survivors. Therefore, it urges to study about the quality of life among gynecological cancer survivors.
Purpose/Objectives: To compare quality of life and it’s related factors including sleep, psychological distress, sexual functions between gynecological cancer survivors and healthy women.
Methods: This case-control study included 85 gynecological cancer survivors with completing active treatments for at least 6 months and 85 age-matched community women with no cancer history as a control group. Data were collected by using structured questionnaires including “personal characteristics questionnaire,” “SF-12 Health Surveys (SF-12),” “the MOS 12-Item Sleep Scale (MOS-sleep),” “Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI),” “State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI),” “Sexual Activity Questionnaire (SAQ), and “The Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-R).”
Results: There were no significant differences in the quality of life, sleep problem index, psychological distress, attachment-related anxiety or attachment-related avoidance between cancer survivors and healthy groups. However, compared with healthy control group, the lower sexual activity rates, lower sexual pleasure and higher sexual distress were shown in cancer survivor group. Hierarchical regression model revealed that higher levels of attachment-related anxiety played as the main predictor for the lower physical component summary (PCS) scores in cancer survivor group while without religious beliefs, and with chronic illness were the predictors for the lower PCS scores in healthy control group. Anxiety acted as a predictor for lower mental component summary (MCS) scores in both groups. Notably, either disease and treatment related variables or sexual functioning variables could not predict quality of life in cancer survivor group.
Conclusions: The quality of life was comparable between gynecological cancer survivors and healthy women but sexual function distress more likely occurred in the cancer survivors. The main differences in the factors influencing quality of life between two groups were that the attachment-related anxiety only affected physical healthy in gynecological cancer survivors. Nevertheless, anxiety levels affected mental health for both groups. These findings suggested that gynecological cancer survivors had lower sexual function; however, rather than sexual function, the sense of insecurity in close relationships was the main factor influencing their physical aspect of quality of life.