Quality of life in thyroid cancer

Torquil Watt*, Thea Christoffersen, Mathilde Borring Brogaard, Jakob Bue Bjorner, Jens Bentzen, Christoffer Holst Hahn, Birte Nygaard, Ulla Feldt-Rasmussen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReviewResearchpeer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

To explore the impact of differentiated thyroid cancer (DTC) on quality of life (QoL) a clinical analytical framework was developed. Based on the clinical analytical framework, a systematic literature search was performed to identify studies applying patient-reported outcomes (PRO) instruments among patients with DTC. Subsequently, the scope was narrowed down to studies comparing scores on the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) Short form 36 (SF-36) to a reference population (clinical interpretability criterion). Further, the currently available thyroid cancer (TC) specific QoL PROs were review in accordance with the standards of the International Society of Quality of Life Research. In the initial search, 213 studies were included. The additional ‘clinical interpretability’-criteria, limited the final study sample to 16 studies, 13 cross-sectional and 3 longitudinal. QoL was impacted across all SF-36 scales. The impact was generally modest and the impact was impeded by time since diagnosis and treatment. Four TC specific instruments were identified. Generally, the documentation of their measurement properties, particularly content validity and clinical validity, including substantial quantitative validation, was scarce. As was the cross-cultural applicability of the currently available instruments. This restricted, focused, clinically founded review showed an impact on a broad range of QoL issues. There is a need for large-scale measurement of QoL outcome longitudinally, using well-validated PRO instruments in order to identify with certainty the impact on subgroups.

Original languageEnglish
Article number101732
JournalBest Practice & Research: Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism
Volume37
Issue number1
Number of pages15
ISSN1521-690X
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2023

Bibliographical note

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© 2023

Keywords

  • differentiated thyroid cancer
  • patient experiences
  • patient reported outcomes
  • quality of life

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