Self-reported quality of life in elderly patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma treated with CHOP chemotherapy.

We studied the impact of CHOP chemotherapy on the quality of life (QoL) of elderly patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). 132 patients aged 65 or older, who participated in a randomized, multicenter trial, completed QoL questionnaires (EuroQol- 5D, EORTC QLQ-C30 and MFI-20) on 8 predefined time-points before, during and following treatment. At baseline, QoL was significantly better on almost all dimensions in patients with a lower compared to patients with a higher age-adjusted international Prognostic index (aaPI). During treatment, physical and role functioning and global QoL deteriorated and fatigue increased in the lower aaPI group, whereas QoL of the higher aaPI group remained stable. During follow-up, the QoL was significantly better for patients in complete response (CR) or partial remission (PR) than for patients with progression/relapse. Soon after completion of therapy, the QoL of the lower aaPI group returned to pretreatment levels or better, while patients with higher aaPI showed a significant improvement in QoL compared to baseline levels. The effect of CHOP on the quality of life of elderly patients could be used in counseling this group of patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of European Journal of Haematology is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)