Functional outcomes and health-related quality of life following curative treatment for rectal cancer: A population-level study in England

This large-scale population-level study investigated functional outcomes and health-related quality of life (HRQL) 12-36 months after curative rectal cancer treatment using linked survey and administrative data. We observed that patients who received pre-operative radiotherapy reported clinically and statistically significantly worse bowel and sexual function compared to patients who had surgery alone. Patients who received short-course radiotherapy reported worse bowel control than those who had long-course chemoradiotherapy. Patients with a stoma reported more sexual difficulties and worse HRQL outcomes.

https://ift.tt/2PB3836