QOLP-10. THE IMPACT OF VARIOUS FACTORS ON HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE (hrQOL) IN PATIENTS UNDERGOING INTRACRANIAL RADIOTHERAPY

PURPOSE: Treatment of brain tumors significantly impacts health-related quality of life (hrQOL). In this prospective longitudinal study of hrQOL in patients receiving intracranial radiotherapy (RT) we sought to better understand the factors impacting patient hrQOL following brain RT. METHODS: Data was collected prospectively at our institution from 2013–2017. Prior to RT, patients completed a core overall hrQOL tool (EORTC QLQ C-15-PAL) and a brain tumor-specific module (QLQ-BN20), repeating these questionnaires one month post-treatment and every 3-months until patient death or study withdrawal. Baseline patient data collected included age, gender, KPS, tumor type (primary or metastasis), histology, and RT treatment type. Statistical analyses using R software package included linear regression modeling for continuous hrQOL outcomes and proportional odds modeling for ordinal hrQOL outcomes. RESULTS: Two hundred twenty one patients (51% male, 49% female) completed baseline surveys. The majority of patients had brain metastases (57%) while 43% had a primary brain tumor (13% WHO grade I-II, 26% WHO grade III-IV, and 4% benign/other). Global hrQOL was significantly affected by tumor type, histology, and RT treatment type one month post-RT, with metastatic patients 41% less likely to give a higher score than primary brain tumor patients (p=0.031), WHO grade I-II patients 8 times more likely to give a higher score than those with brain metastases (p=0.017), and patients receiving SRS or WBRT 75–81% less likely to give a higher score than those receiving partial brain RT (p=0.039). Other hrQOL measures impacted by various clinical and treatment factors included future uncertainty, emotional and physical functioning, fatigue, motor dysfunction, and nausea and vomiting. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated significant longitudinal overall and brain tumor-specific hrQOL differences due to such factors as tumor type, disease histology, and treatment type following intracranial RT. This knowledge may help better predict certain hrQOL outcomes and guide patient care following intracranial RT.