Factors Influencing Quality of Life in Patients with Nasopharyngeal Cancer Based on QLICP-NA (Version 2.0)

Abstract Objective To determine the quality of life (QoL) of patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and the clinical factors that influence QoL. Methods Multiple linear regression, simple and canonical correlation analyses were used to analyze the factors that affected QoL in patients with NPC. Results The QoL scores were as follows: physical function domain, 61.03±15.03; mental function domain, 60.95±15.35; social function domain, 59.17±14.16; specific module domain, 75.62±14.87; and total scale score, 66.10±97.18. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that family economic status and clinical stage of the disease are the factors affecting the overall QoL among NPC patients. The simple correlation analysis showed that the hemoglobin level had a positive correlation with physical function, social function, specific module domains, and the total score of the total scale. Canonical correlation analysis revealed a pair of statistically significant typical variables and the canonical correlation coefficient was 0.561 (P<0.05). Conclusion The indicators related to the QoL among patients with NPC included family economic status, clinical stage of the disease, red blood cell count, and albumin, total bilirubin, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, aspartate aminotransferase, and hemoglobin levels. A focus on these indicators and implementing the corresponding treatment measures had value in improving the QoL among patients with NPC.