Quality of Life and Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression Among Patients With Cancer: Insights From a Tertiary Care Hospital.

BACKGROUND Cancer is a leading cause of global mortality and morbidity, accounting for millions of deaths each year. This study aimed to assess quality of life (QoL), examine the demographic, clinical, and psychological factors associated with QoL, evaluate the prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms, and assess the associations between treatment modalities and QoL domains among patients with cancer receiving anticancer therapy in Lahore, Pakistan. MATERIAL AND METHODS A cross-sectional study included 385 cancer patients using a convenience sampling. Data were collected using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) questionnaire, which assesses 4 QoL domains: physical well-being (PWB), social well-being (SWB), emotional well-being (EWB), and functional well-being (FWB). The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) was used to measure anxiety and depression levels. RESULTS The median overall FACT-G score was 68 (IQR: 24), with EWB scoring the highest median of 19 (IQR: 7) and PWB the lowest at 14 (IQR: 12). SWB and FWB had median scores of 16 (IQR: 4) and 18 (IQR: 9), respectively. HADS results indicated that 56.1% of participants had normal depression scores, while 23.4% had high depression. For anxiety, 60% were in the regular category, and 15.3% had clinical anxiety. Higher levels of anxiety and depression were associated with poorer QoL across all domains. Educational level and sex were significantly associated with QoL. CONCLUSIONS Overall, patients with cancer maintained a moderate QoL, with particularly low PWB scores, highlighting the physical burden of cancer treatment. These findings highlight the importance of routine psychological assessment and supportive care to address the physical, emotional, and social needs of cancer patients during treatment.