Patient-reported quality of life in grade 2 and 3 gliomas after surgery, can we do more?

Objective: To study the effects of surgery and the explanatory variables for patient-reported health-related quality of life (HRQoL) after brain tumor surgery for astrocytomas and oligodendrogliomas grade 2 and 3.

Methods: Patients operated for an astrocytoma or an oligodendrogliomas, grade 2 or 3, at the Department of Neurosurgery, Uppsala, Sweden, 2016-2021, were included. HRQoL was assessed with RAND-36 preoperatively and 4 months postoperatively. Demographic, tumor, and treatment data were prospectively collected.

Results: Sixty-two patients were included, 34 with an astrocytoma and 28 with an oligodendroglioma. Physical function, role physical, general health, vitality, and social functioning decreased significantly (p-values < 0.01) 4 months after surgery, whereas bodily pain, role emotional, and mental health remained unchanged. In Spearman analyses, younger patients deteriorated more in role physical, females worsened less often in general health but more often in social functioning than males, a higher level of education correlated with a more pronounced drop in social functioning, and a greater extent of resection corresponded to a worsening in physical function postoperatively (p-values < 0.05).

Conclusions: Several HRQoL domains deteriorated after glioma surgery in specific groups of patients, particularly general health, vitality, physical, and social functions. This was only weakly explained by surgical variables. Specific groups of patients may need closer follow-ups and tailored support/rehabilitation to detect and address these HRQoL deteriorations.