Quality of Life (QoL) using EORTC QoL-C30 and BN20 among Patients who Underwent Brain Tumor Resection in a Tertiary Care Center in Saudi Arabia.

INTRODUCTION

Quality of life (QoL) encompasses the awareness of individuals' well-being in various aspects of their lives, including physical, personal, mental, and social domains. It is imperative to address QoL concerns in patients with brain tumors. The objective of this study is to assess the QoL among brain tumor patients treated a tertiary hospital in Saudi Arabia.

METHODS

A retrospective study conducted at a single academic institution in 2017 analyzed data from adult patients diagnosed with brain tumors who underwent craniotomy and resection procedures over a 10-year period (2007-2017). The assessment of QoL was conducted employing a translated Arabic questionnaire derived from the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) standardized model (QLQ-C30). This model evaluates various domains, including global health, physical function, role functioning, emotional functioning, cognitive functioning, social functioning, and symptoms domain. Furthermore, the brain cancer model (BN20) was utilized to assess symptoms and evaluate all aspects of well-being.

RESULTS

In this study, a total of 76 patients were included, with a median age of 46 years. No gender bias was observed. Meningioma was the most prevalent brain tumor in our study, comprising 40% of the cases, followed by glioma and other types. It is noteworthy that more than half (65%) of the brain tumor patients had a World Health Organization (WHO) grade I brain tumor, while 15% had grade II, and 20% had grades III or IV. Supratentorial was the most common location for brain tumors. In all types of brain tumors, particularly in patients who underwent resection of meningioma and glioma, the QoL scales and measurements of daily functioning consistently exhibited low scores. Better QoL scores were correlated with male gender, the location of the brain tumor, and the WHO tumor grade. Conversely, perioperative headache, drowsiness, neurological deficits, and low socioeconomic status were associated with poor QoL.

CONCLUSION

Our study is the first study reported in Saudi Arabia to evaluate the quality of life of patients undergoing surgical procedures for brain tumors. We demonstrated that the QoL experienced by brain tumor patients consistently appeared to be poor, irrespective of the specific type of tumor. We underscore the paramount significance of evaluating the QoL of brain tumors within the Gulf and Middle East regions. To comprehensively evaluate the QoL of brain tumor patients globally, a substantial sample size and longitudinal or prospective studies are indispensable.