Abstract P6-12-04: Quality of life of Chinese breast cancer survivors in association with lifestyle changes before and after cancer diagnosis
Authors: Lei Y-Y , Lee IC-K , Cheung KL , Lee R , He Y , Yeo W 
Published: February 2018

Background: Epidemiologic studies in the West have found that lifestyle factors, including maintaining normal body weight, being physically active and eating a healthy diet are individually associated with better quality of life (QOL) among breast cancer survivors. Limited data is available on lifestyle modifications in association with quality of life of breast cancer survivors in Asian region. The objectives of this study were to [1] determine the lifestyle changes among Chinese breast cancer survivors at diagnosis and 18-month post diagnosis; and [2] to assess the association of lifestyle changes with QOL.

Methods: In this prospective cohort study, 1300 Chinese breast cancer patients were assessed at breast cancer diagnosis (baseline; reflecting pre-diagnosis) and at 18-month post-diagnosis. During each assessment, individual patient's lifestyle within the previous 12 months were recorded and included exercise, diet, and body mass index (BMI) data; each patient also underwent self-administered QOL assessment. Assessment of lifestyle modifications were based on World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research (WCRF/AICR) recommendation adherence scores (range: 0-6).QOL was evaluated by European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer-Quality of Life Questionnaire C-30 (EORTC-QLQ-C30). Paired t-test was performed to compare the overall recommendation adherence score before and after diagnosis.To investigate the association between recommendation adherence score and HRQoL, generalized linear models were used to compare the least-square means by tertiles of adherence score (T1, T2, and T3) and continuous adherence score. In the multivariate models, adjustment were made for age, stage of cancer, education level, marital status, comorbidities, smoking status, current hormonal therapy and energy intake.

Results: The mean recommendation adherence score significantly increased from baseline of 3.2 (SD=1.1) to 3.9 (SD=1.1, p&lt;0.001) at 18-month follow-up. Overall, increasing adherence to WCRF/AICR guideline was associated with higher scores of global health status (P=0.01), physical functioning (P&lt;0.001) and role functioning (P=0.03), and lower scores of fatigue (P=0.001), nausea and vomiting (P=0.003), pain (P&lt;0.001), dyspnea (P=0.006), loss of appetite (P=0.001) and diarrhea (P&lt;0.001).

Conclusions: Positive lifestyle changes were made among Chinese breast cancer survivors after cancer diagnosis. Increased adherence to WCRF/AICR recommendations after cancer diagnosis improves QOL, suggesting that Chinese breast cancer survivors should follow the WCRF/AICR guideline for cancer prevention.

Acknowledgments: This study is funded by the World Cancer Research Fund International (Grant Number WCRF 2010/249and WCRF 2014/1197) and Madam Diana Hon Fun Kong Donation for Cancer Research.

Citation Format: Lei Y-Y, Lee IC-K, Cheung KL, Lee R, He Y, Yeo W. Quality of life of Chinese breast cancer survivors in association with lifestyle changes before and after cancer diagnosis [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2017 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P6-12-04.