Background: The Covid-19 pandemic’s potential psychological impact has been widely discussed on the basis of expert opinion and previous experience with emergencies of this type. We conducted a survey of cancer patients to explore more objectively the outbreak’s impact on their emotional well-being and quality of life. Methods: Between March 18 and April 4, 2020, at an endocrine cancer center in Rome, Italy, 137 patients were asked to complete an online 6-item questionnaire developed by our staff to explore the emotional effects of the Covid-19 outbreak in Italy (Covid-19 Emotional Impact Survey, C-19EIS). For validation purposes, we also asked participants to complete an online version of the validated Italian translation of the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire. Responses were analyzed in relation to responders’ age, sex, and clinical status (advanced/metastatic disease undergoing systemic treatment vs. stable metastatic thyroid cancer in active surveillance vs. low-risk thyroid cancers with no evidence of structural disease during standard follow-up). Results: Response rates were high (51% for the C-19EIS, 44.5% for the EORTC QLQ-C30). Overall C-19EIS scores indicated high concern over the outbreak (median 8/12). Scores were higher in women (8 [IQR 5–9] vs. 6 [IQR 5–8] in men; p = 0.048) and in patients <65 years (8 [IQR 5–9] vs. 6 [IQR 4–8] in older patients; p = 0.013). No differences emerged across clinical status groups. C-19EIS scores were inversely correlated with the EORTC QLQ-C30 Emotional function subscale (rho −0.69; p < 0.001). Conclusions: There is objective evidence that the Covid-19 outbreak is causing substantial emotional distress among cancer patients, regardless of their disease severity or current health-care needs.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, outcomes, Quality of life, cancer care, emotional outbreak, 【초록키워드】 Treatment, pandemic, translation, survey, disease severity, Cancer, Sex, Italy, clinical status, outbreak, response, psychological Impact, Impact, Patient, Cancer patients, Active surveillance, age, Follow-up, women, Thyroid, Responder, disease, questionnaire, score, Evidence, Endocrine, distress, cancer patient, response rate, emotional, Cancer center, Older, participant, Rome, Effect, Complete, Italian, health-care, analyzed, indicated, conducted, median, correlated, groups, asked, 【제목키워드】 Quality, life,