Multi-dimensional quality of life among long-term (5+ years) adult cancer survivors.

Survival from cancer has improved over the past decade resulting in more long-term survivors. The literature on multi-dimensional quality of life (QOL) among long-term (5+ years) adult survivors is reviewed for each of seven cancer sites (i.e. breast, ovarian, cervical, prostate, colorectal, head and neck, and Hodgkin's disease survivors). Overall, long-term survivors experience good to excellent QOL. Physical domain QOL was the most frequently measured while spiritual domain QOL was the least frequently measured. QOL varies according to treatment received and by age for all groups with older persons (excepting head and neck and Hodgkin's disease survivors) reporting better QOL. QOL improves with time for breast cancer survivors and tends to decrease over time for prostate cancer survivors. Issues regarding sexual functioning affected the social domain-especially for breast and prostate cancer survivors. Social support improves psychological domain QOL for breast, cervical, and colorectal survivors. Review of findings may assist researchers and clinicians wishing to enhance the QOL of the long-term survivor population by identifying the most pressing and widely experienced concerns and by providing directions for future research.