Health-Related Quality of Life and Experiences of Sarcoma Patients during the COVID-19 Pandemic

• Published in: Cancers Vol. 12; no. 8; p. 2288
• Main Authors: Younger, Eugenie, Smrke, Alannah, Lidington, Emma, Farag, Sheima, Ingley, Katrina, Chopra, Neha, Maleddu, Alessandra, Augustin, Yolanda, Merry, Eve, Wilson, Roger, Benson, Charlotte, Miah, Aisha, Zaidi, Shane, McTiernan, Anne, Strauss, Sandra, Dileo, Palma, Gennatas, Spyridon, Husson, Olga, Jones, Robin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 14.08.2020; MDPI
• Subjects: Cancer therapies; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Emotions; Evaluation; Loneliness; Pandemics; Patients; Quality of life; Sarcoma; Sleep disorders; Telemedicine; United Kingdom; United Kingdom > UK
• ISSN: 2072-6694; 2072-6694
• DOI: 10.3390/cancers12082288

Sarcomas are rare cancers with a spectrum of clinical needs and outcomes. We investigated care experiences and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in sarcoma patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients with appointments during the first two months of the UK lockdown were invited to complete a survey. Questions included views on care modifications, COVID-19 worry and psychosocial impact, and EORTC-QLQ-C30 items. 350 patients completed the survey; median age 58 (16–92) years. Care modifications included telemedicine (74%) and postponement of appointments (34%), scans (34%) or treatment (10%). Most felt the quality of care was not affected (72%), however, social life (87%) and emotional wellbeing (41%) were affected. Worry about COVID-19 infection was moderately high (mean 5.8/10) and significantly related to higher cancer-related worry; associated with lower emotional functioning irrespective of treatment intent. Curative patients (44%) with low resilient coping scores had significantly higher COVID-19 worry. Patients who did not know their treatment intent (22%) had significantly higher COVID-19 worry and insomnia. In summary, care experiences were generally positive; however, cancer-related worry, low resilient coping and uncertainty about treatment intent were associated with COVID-19 worry. These patients may benefit from additional psychological support during the pandemic and beyond.