Perceptions of Japanese and Dutch women with early breast cancer about monitoring their quality of life

Figures & data

Table 1. Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics.

	Netherlands (N = 70)	Japan (N = 134)	p-value
Age (yr)	53.3 (9.2)	53.4 (10.4)	0.91^a
Affected breast
Left	27 (38.6%)	65 (48.5%)	0.40^b
Right	37 (52.9%)	60 (44.8%)
Bilateral	6 (8.6%)	9 (6.7%)
Cancer subtype
Invasive ductal	58 (84.1%)	102 (87.9%)	0.54^b
Invasive lobular	8 (11.6%)	8 (6.9%)
Other	3 (4.3%)	6 (5.2%)
Cancer stage
I	11 (15.7%)	26 (19.4%)	0.78^b
II	49 (70.0%)	88 (65.7%)
III	10 (14.3%)	20 (14.9%)
ER and/or PR positive	50 (71.4%)	89 (66.4%)	0.43^b
HER2 positive	17 (24.3%)	53 (39.6%)	0.03^b
Timing of chemotherapy
Adjuvant	36 (51.4%)	95 (70.9%)	0.01^b
Neo-adjuvant	34 (48.6%)	39 (29.1%)
Current chemotherapy
TAC	27 (38.6%)	0 (0%)	<0.001^b
AC	27 (38.6%)	96 (71.6%)
FEC	12 (17.1%)	1 (0.7%)
TC	3 (4.3%)	37 (27.6%)
PTCptz	1 (1.4%)	0 (0%)
Previous radiotherapy treatment	18 (25.7%)	18 (13.7%)	0.04^b

a) differences in mean score tested with t-test; b) differences in frequencies tested with χ² test.

AC: adriamycin-cyclophosphamide; ER: estrogen receptor; FEC: 5 fluorouracil-epirubicin-cyclophosphamide; HER2: human epidermal growth factor receptor 2; PR: progesterone receptor; PTCptz: paclitaxel-carboplatin-trastuzumab-pertuzumab; TAC: docetaxel-adriamycin-cyclophosphamide; TC: docetaxel-cyclophosphamide.

Figure 1. Total number of QoL-related items discussed during medical visit (consultation before fourth cycle of chemotherapy).

Table 2. Total number of QoL-related items discussed during visit.

	Netherlands	Japan
Number of QoL- related items discussed	N (%)	N (%)
0	0	36 (26.7%)
1	4 (5.7%)	17 (12.6%)
2	6 (8.6%)	18 (13.3%)
3	8 (11.4%)	14 (10.4%)
4	6 (8.6%)	20 (14.8%)
5	10 (14.3%)	5 (3.7%)
6	11 (15.7%)	8 (5.9%)
7	8 (11.4%)	7 (5.2%)
8	4 (5.7%)	3 (2.2%)
9	3 (4.3%)	3 (2.2%)
10	3 (4.3%)	2 (1.5%)
11	3 (4.3%)	1 (0.7%)
12	2 (2.9%)	1 (0.7%)
13-17	0	0
18	2 (2.9%)	0

Figure 2. Frequency of discussion of 19 QoL-related items during the medical visit.

Table 3. Discussion of QoL-related items in the Netherlands and Japan.

	Netherlands	Japan
QoL domain	N (%)	N (%)
a) General physical symptoms
Pain	30 (42.9%)	44 (32.6%)
Fatigue	45 (64.3%)	29 (21.5%)
Dyspnea	17 (24.3%)	12 (8.9%)
Nausea	44 (62.9%)	31 (23.0%)
Sleep problems	27 (38.6%)	14 (10.4%)
Appetite	32 (45.7%)	25 (18.5%)
Constipation	30 (42.9%)	35 (25.9%)
Diarrhea	14 (20.0%)	22 (16.3%)
Chemotherapy side effects	49 (70.0%)	86 (63.7%)
b) Locoregional symptoms
Arm symptoms	23 (32.9%)	28 (20.7%)
Breast symptoms	14 (20.0%)	19 (14.1%)
c) Physical and role functioning
Physical functioning	21 (30.0%)	12 (8.9%)
Role functioning	12 (17.1%)	10 (7.4%)
d) Psycho-social functioning
Sexual functioning	5 (7.1%)	0 (0.0%)
Body image	4 (5.7%)	8 (5.9%)
Future health	14 (20.0%)	6 (4.4%)
Social functioning	12 (17.1%)	3 (2.2%)
Cognitive functioning	7 (10.0%)	0 (0.0%)
Emotional functioning	18 (25.7%)	7 (5.2%)

Figure 3. Proportion of visits that included discussion (at least 1 item per domain) about: general physical symptoms (Panel A), locoregional symptoms (Panel B), physical and role functioning (Panel C) and psycho-social functioning (Panel D).

Table 4. Evaluation of QoL-monitor use.

	Netherlands (n = 28)	Japan (n = 63)	p-value
Average time to fill out questionnaires (min.)	10.12 (3.68)	11.64 (7.51)	0.20^a
Usefulness for reporting problems and questions*	4.33 (0.71)	3.15 (0.85)	<0.001^a
Usefulness for communication with healthcare provider**	3.50 (1.14)	2.60 (1.00)	<0.001^a
Burden to complete QoL questionnaires***	1.50 (0.57)	2.32 (0.99)	<0.001^a
Difficulty to understand QoL questionnaires****	1.62 (0.78)	2.43 (0.95)	<0.001^a
QoL monitoring as standard element of clinical care? (% Yes)	26 (93%)	53 (84%)	0.26^b

a) differences in mean score tested with t-test; b) differences in frequencies tested with χ² test.

* Scale from 0 to 5, 0= not useful at all, 5= very useful.

** Scale from 0 to 5, 0= not useful at all, 5= very useful.

*** Scale from 0 to 5, 0= no burden, 5 = very burdensome.

**** Scale from 0 to 5, 0= not difficult at all, 5 = very difficult.