A study looking at quality of life of people with cancer (ECTQoL)

The study team found that it was possible to collect information about peoples’ quality of life from routine clinic appointments at the hospital. 

This study recruited 79 people who were having treatment for breast cancer at Weston Park Hospital in Sheffield or Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in the Wirral. Most of the people the researchers asked to join the study did so. 

Of the 79 people who joined the study, 78 were having chemotherapy and 1 person was having hormone therapy.

Each person filled in a short questionnaire about how their cancer treatment had affected their quality of life. The questions asked if their treatment caused:

• problems with walking about
• problems with taking care of themselves
• problems doing their daily activities
• any pain or discomfort
• anxiety or depression 

Doctors were also asked to fill in a short questionnaire about the stage of the disease, treatment offered and the response of the treatment.  

The study team concluded that it was possible to collect high quality information about quality of life from patients at routine clinical appointments.  

However, it was not possible for doctors to report accurately on the response of the treatment because additional diagnostic tests would need to be carried out and these were not routinely done. 

This was only a small study and the researchers couldn’t draw any firm conclusions about effects of treatments on quality of life. They stated that to do this, a study with a larger number of people was needed as well as additional diagnostic tests to determine how patients were responding to treatments.  

We have based this summary on information from the team who ran the trial.  As far as we are aware, the information they sent us has not been reviewed independently (peer reviewed ) or published in a medical journal yet. The figures we quote above were provided by the trial team. We have not analysed the data ourselves.