Health-related quality of life after chemotherapy cycle in breast cancer in Iran

The aim of this study was to compare the differences between the level of whole quality of life and its subscales after receiving two common treatment of breast cancer in women with early stage of breast cancer. A double-blinded cohort study was done in 100 breast cancer patients with node positive that used fluorouracil, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide (FAC) and docetaxel, doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide (TAC) regimen as adjuvant therapy. Patients were followed for 4 months since the end of chemotherapy. Health-related quality of life was assessed using questionnaire (QLQ-C30) from European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC). Independent t-test analysis was used at the significant level of 0.05 for analyzing the results. The mean of age was 48.49 ± 10.63 in these patients. QoL scores were 64 and 68 in TAC and FAC groups, respectively (P < 0.001). After 4 months, patients in TAC and FAC groups experienced 11.45 and 7.14 units of improvement in QoL scores, respectively (P = 0.02). Although, TAC had a more negative impact on QoL during chemotherapy, it created a higher improvement than FAC during 4 months since the end of treatment. These effects on quality of life should be considered in making decision for providing and financing cancer treatments in Iran. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC