© Copyright 2008 by the Society for Neuro-Oncology
Received July 23, 2008
Accepted October 14, 2008
Basic and Translational Investigations
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Quality of life in adults with brain tumors: Current knowledge and future directions
Susan M. Chang 1*,
Raymond Liu 2,
Margaretta Page 2,
Karla Solheim 2,
Sherry Fox 3
1 Professor of Neurological Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, 400 Parnassus Ave., A-808, San Francisco, CA 94143–0350, USA
2 Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
3 Department of Nursing, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: changs{at}neurosurg.ucsf.edu.
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Abstract |
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Quality of life is an important area of clinical neuro-oncology that is increasingly
relevant as survivorship increases and as patients experience potential morbidities
associated with new therapies. This review of quality-of-life studies done in the brain
tumor population aims to summarize what is currently known about quality of life in
patients with both low-grade and high-grade tumors and suggest how we may use this
knowledge to direct future research. To date reports on quality of life have been
primarily qualitative and focused on specific symptoms such as fatigue, sleep disorders,
and cognitive dysfunction, as well as some symptom clusters. However, the increasing
interest in exploring quality of life as a primary endpoint for cancer therapy has
established a need for prospective, controlled studies to assess baseline and serial
quality-of-life parameters in brain-tumor patients in order to plan and evaluate
appropriate and timely intervention for their symptoms.
Key Words:
brain tumor, clinical trial endpoints, quality of life, survivorship, symptom management
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