Impact of surgical treatment on quality of life of patients with early-stage cervical cancer: a case study of two Referral Hospitals in Kenya

Abstract

Objective: To determine the impact of surgical treatment on quality of life (QoL) of patients with early-stage cervical cancer at Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH), Eldoret, Kenya, and Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH), Nairobi, Kenya. Methods: A cohort study conducted among 71 patients undergoing surgery for surgically amenable cervical cancer stage. Consecutive sampling of females was used to recruit participants. Participants were followed up for 3 months post-operatively. Descriptive statistics was used to describe the study participants. Bivariate analysis was used to assess the relationship between dependent and independent variables, and p value ≤0.05 was considered to be statistically significant. Results: Nearly two-thirds (63.5%) of the females had a parity of four or more, 69 (97.2%) did not have a family history of cervical cancer, and 57 (80.3%) were negative on HIV test. Most females (47.9%) had Stage IB2 cervical cancer, followed by those with Stage IB1, seen in 28 (39.4%) of the females enrolled. There were statistically significant differences in pain/discomfort (p=0.028) and anxiety/ depression (p=0.028). Patients aged 20–35 years had a two-fold increased likelihood (adjusted odds ratio: 2.44; 95% confidence interval: 1.30–3.10; p=0.011) of reporting better QoL scores compared to older females. The lower the cervical cancer stage (Stage IA2), the higher the likelihood for improved QoL following surgical management of cervical Conclusion: This study reports that being aged 20–35 years old and having a lower stage cervical cancer increased the likelihood of a good QoL outcome following surgical management of cervical cancercancer (adjusted odds ratio: 5.69; 95% confidence interval: 3.55–6.89; p=0.001).