The studies included in this review do not allow firm conclusions as to the question of whether the quality of life of people after anterior resection is superior to that of people after abdominoperineal excision/Hartmann's operation. The included studies challenges the assumption that anterior resection patients fare better.Larger, better designed and executed prospective studies are needed to answer this question.
Quality of life in colorectal cancer patients with colectomy and the validation of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Colorectal (FACT-C), Version 4.
The purpose of this study was to determine whether the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Colorectal (the FACT-C), a disease-specific tool for the assessment of colorectal cancer patients' QOL, is a valid assessment tool for measuring QOL changes. Ninety-eight colorectal cancer patients performed the assessment at baseline and 52 of these patients completed the instrument at one month and six months after colectomy. In addition to the FACT-C, the shortened forms of the Profile of Mood States, the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status Rating, Neuroticism Scale in the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire, and Functional Living Index-Cancer were completed. We found convergent and divergent validity and good reliability of the FACT-C. Patients' overall QOL was lower at one month after colectomy and recovered to the pre-surgery level at six months after colectomy.