The quality of life in cancer patients in Iran: A systematic review by using meta-analysis

Introduction: Cancer is the third leading cause of death after cardiovascular diseases and accidents. Patients with cancer do not have a good quality of life. Therefore, the purpose of this study was investigating the state of quality of life in cancer patients in Iran, using the meta-analysis method. Materials and Methods: The search was done using keywords: Quality of Life, Cancer and Iran in the foreign databases of Pubmed, Scopus, Medline, ISI, Google Scholar and native databases such as Sid, Medlib, Iranmedex and Magiran. Data was analyzed using meta-analysis (Random Effects Model). The heterogeneity of the studies was investigated using I^2 index. Data was analyzed using STATA Ver.11 software. SF-36، E-Q-C-30، TNO-AZL، WB-26، BR23-C 30 and QOL-BC questionnaires were used in the investigations. Results: Among the 17 accomplished studies in Iran with the sample size of 1476 from year 2003 to 2015, the average quality of life score for cancer patients in Iran was 42 (confidence interval 95%: 34.05 to 49.96) and in men and women were 28.90 and 30.61, respectively. The average quality of life score for the emotional aspect were 55.20, social 40.8, mental health 36.50, physical health 38.17, respectively. The prevalence of quality of life as good, fair and bad were 47%, 34% and 9%, respectively. Conclusion: The average quality of life score of cancer patients is higher in women in compare to me