Quality of Life and Psychological Distress of Patients with Advanced Cancer in the Philippines

Purpose: This study aimed to describe the quality of life (QOL) and psychological distress (anxiety and depression) of Filipino patients with advanced solid cancers and identify sociodemographic and clinical-related factors associated with them.

Methods: 195 patients with advanced cancer were recruited from a major hospital treating cancer patients in the Philippines. Participants completed self-reported surveys on Quality-of-life (QOL-FACT-G) and psychological distress (HADS-D, HADS-A). Multi-variable OLS regression models were performed where sociodemographic, health history and clinical characteristics were included as predictors.

Results: The average total FACT-G score was 65.39/108 (Standard deviation (SD) = 13.76), with the physical well-being scale having the lowest scores (M = 14.14/28, SD = 5.92). The two most common symptoms reported were fatigue (88%) and pain (86.5%). Physical symptom burden was significantly negatively associated with QOL and psychological distress. The average HADS-total score was 14.46/21 (SD = 5.77), with 8% with probable anxiety and 27% with probable depression. Participants who reported greater reliance on their spiritual faith for strength in coping with illness reported lower depression scores.

Conclusions: Our findings underline the importance of understanding the multi-dimensional outcomes of Filipino advanced cancer patients. Results may be used to improve QOL and reduce the psychological distress of advanced cancer patients.