Original Article Comparison of Health-related Quality of Life Between Cancer Survivors Treated in Designated Cancer Centers and the General Public in Korea

Objective: We assessed health-related quality of life in cancer survivors treated in designated cancer centers when compared with the general population in Korea. Methods: A multicenter survey was conducted from July through August 2008 using the quota-sampling approach. A general population sample was drawn from the Fourth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, second year. We compared the multivariate-adjusted least square means of cancer patients with those of the general population to examine rela-tionships between EuroQol five-dimensional questionnaire components and cancer sites, cancer stage and time since diagnosis. The independent variables of responses to the EuroQol five-dimensional questionnaire were evaluated using logistic regression analysis. Results: Cancer patients scored significantly poorer on measures of self-care (means: stomach 1.25; lung 1.40; liver 1.27; colon 1.26; breast 1.27; cervical 1.29 vs. general 1.18), en-gagement in usual activities (means: stomach 1.47; lung 1.63; liver 1.45; colon 1.44; breast 1.46; cervical 1.47 vs. general 1.33) and anxiety/depression (means: stomach 1.41; lung 1.50; liver 1.41; colon 1.42; breast 1.50; cervical 1.47 vs. general 1.28). Those in the local stag