Few symptoms after successful colon cancer therapy

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Few colorectal cancer survivors report symptoms 4 years after their diagnosis and their quality of life is generally comparable to that of the general population's, according to findings published in the medical journal Cancer.

"The number of long-term survivors after a cancer diagnosis is increasing, yet relatively few studies have addressed survivors' reported symptoms beyond the initial year after diagnosis," Dr. Eric C. Schneider, at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, and his colleagues write.

The researchers describe the symptoms reported by 474 patients who survived for at least 4 years after a diagnosis of colorectal cancer. Overall, 69 percent had colon cancer (37 percent with stage II and 32 percent with stage III) and 31 percent had rectal cancer (13 percent with stage II and 18 percent with stage III).

Fatigue was the most common symptom, which was reported by 23 percent. This was followed by negative feelings about body appearance (14 percent), diarrhea (13 percent) and constipation (7 percent).

The authors found that many patients attributed health-related effects to the cancer or the cancer treatment. Twenty-four percent reported they worried about their health, 19 percent reported physical discomfort, and another 15 percent complained of limitations in activity.

In general, no association was found between prior cancer treatment and the prevalence of symptoms. Patients who underwent radiation therapy and those who underwent a diverting ostomy were more likely than others to report symptoms.

"The majority of colorectal cancer survivors can reasonably expect a probability of physical symptoms that does not differ substantially from the general population," with the exception of fatigue and radiation-associated diarrhea, Schneider and colleagues conclude.

However, psychological consequences, they add, need further study to see how they might be ameliorated.

SOURCE: Cancer, November 2007.