Health-related quality-of-life assessment in patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma

Objective: To measure and evaluate the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), a visible cutaneous malignancy that may have a profound effect on patients' lives. Design: Monocenter, cross-sectional study Setting: The Skin Oncology Program, Department of Dermatology, and the Photopheresis Unit of Boston Medical Center. Patients: A total of 22 adult patients with confirmed CTCL. Main Outcome Measures: (1) Evaluation of general oncologic and skin disease-specific HRQOL using, respectively, the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) and Skindex-29 profiles; (2) assessment of HRQOL association with disease stage (early stage, IA-IIA; late stage, IIB-IVB). Results: Patients with more advanced CTCL stages reported more effects on general health (FACT-G), particularly in the physical, emotional, and functional domains (P<.05). Patients with early-stage CTCL reported better skin-specific HRQOL overall (Skindex-29; P=.002) and for each specific domain than did patients with late-stage disease. The Skindex-29 scales had high internal consistency, and the confirmatory factor structure was similar to that of previous studies. Conclusions: The HRQOL of patients with CTCL can be evaluated using the Skindex-29 and FACT-G instruments. Patients with more advanced stages of CTCL had lower HRQOL scores.