Long-term effect of treatment for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer on Quality of life: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND AND

OBJECTIVE

Approximately 75% of bladder cancer patients are diagnosed with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). Complications from treatment, burden the patients and may affect their Quality of Life (QoL). Although accounting for most bladder cancer patients, only 25% of QoL research is conducted in NMIBC patients. The aim is to describe the incidence of complications and to investigate their long-term impact on QoL.

METHODS

This is a cross-sectional study using register data combined with a questionnaire, measuring urological, sexual, gastrointestinal, and psychological complications during treatment. The NMIBC patients diagnosed in Denmark from 2015 to 2020 with the ability to receive digital mail were invited to participate along with 1:6 age- and gender-matched controls. The survey mainly consisted of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer's (EORTC) EORTC-QLQ-C30 and the NMIBC specific EORTC-QLQ-NMIBC24.

RESULTS

A total of 2262 (43%) NMIBC-patients and their 4092 (36%) matched controls participated. Mean time since last Transurethral Resection of Bladder Tumour was 5.8 years (SD: 2.2). Both cases and controls scored equally on the functional items and symptom items of the EORTC-QLQ-C30. The scoring by NMIBC-patients of the EORTC-QLQ-NMIBC24 were mild, indicating no symptomatology. No difference in register-based diagnoses was identified, except for higher incidences of infections related to the urinary tract identified in NMIBC patients.

CONCLUSIONS

We found that NMIBC patients have higher incidences of urological diagnoses compared to controls, but not in sexual or gastrointestinal diagnoses. No difference in long-term impact of complications on QoL between NMIBC patients and controls were identified.