The Journal of Clinical Oncology recently published a new international study which shows that most patients who survive for at least five years after having esophageal cancer surgery recover to an “average quality of life.”
For one in six patients, the quality of life significantly deteriorates to “a level that remains much lower then the average population in the five years after surgery.”
Researchers suggest that hospitals “be better at identifying” those who suffer a deteriorated quality of life post-surgery.
Principal investigator Pernilla Lagergren says “the patients who show early signs of impaired quality of life should be identified and helped through a more intensive follow-up to avoid a persistently low quality of life.”
Lagergren is professor of surgical care sciences at the Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden.
To download a copy of the study click here:
“Health-related quality of life among 5-year survivors of esophageal cancer surgery – a prospective population-based study”, Maryam Derogar and Pernilla Lagergren. Published online before print January 3, 2012.
The Salgi Esophageal Cancer Research Foundation 