Management of elderly patients suffering from cancer: Assessment of perceived burden and of quality of life of primary caregivers

Abstract : Objective: To evaluate the perceived burden and the quality of life (QoL) at 3 and 6 months of the primary caregiver (PC) of patients aged 70 and over suffering from cancer and the predictors of QoL in this population. Methods: In this prospective observational study, 98 patients aged 70 and older with cancer and 96 PCs were included between 01/06/2014 and 18/03/2015. The Medical Outcomes Study 12-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) was used to assess the QoL of PCs and the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) was used to measure the perceived burden at 3 and 6 months. The major determinants of QoL were identified using mixed linear models for the dimensions of the SF-12 that showed an average difference of at least 5 points between baseline and follow-up at 6 months. Results: The QoL scores of PCs showed a decrease in the dimensions "role emotional" and "bodily pain" over 6 months. In multivariate analysis, the main determinants of QoL for "role emotional" were the PC's age (p = 0.005), a low perceived burden (p < 0.0001) and a functionally independent patient (p = 0.01), and for "bodily pain" was a low perceived burden (p < 0.0001) and the non-use of hormone therapy during the treatment (p < 0.0001). Conclusion: The main determinants of the QoL of PCs concerned factors inherent to the PC (age and perceived burden) and patient (functional independence).