Chronological Changes in Quality of Life after Distal Gastrectomy for Gastric Cancer

Purpose: Patient quality of life (QoL) may be severely disrupted following distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer. This issue should be addressed to improve postoperative care. Materials and Methods: QoL data from the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire, and its gastric cancer-specific module, were administered to 202 patients preoperatively, and 5 years postoperatively. Patients were classified into subgroups based on their answers to each questionnaire item: group I (good), answering "not at all"; group II (fair), answering "a little"; group III (poor), answering "quite a bit" or "very much." Results: At 5 years post-operation, the proportion of patients in group III on the functional scales ranged from 4.3% to 5.7%. The proportions of patients in group III with fatigue, insomnia, diarrhea, and financial difficulties were 8.9%, 9.0%, 11.5%, and 9.1%, respectively. The proportions of patients in group III with anxiety, dry mouth, body image concerns, and hair loss were 12.8%, 10.5%, 9.9%, and 12.6%, respectively. These proportions were less than 5% for other QoL symptom scales/items and for the gastric cancer-specific module. Conclusions: Most patients reported good or fair QoL following surgery. However, symptom management of fatigue, insomnia, diarrhea, anxiety, dry mouth, body image, and hair loss should be specifically targeted for long-term patient care in approximately 10% of patients.