Abstract:

Objective To evaluate the quality of life (QOL) in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) receiving the imatinib mesylate treatment and explore relevant influencing factors. Methods Functional assessment of cancer therapy generic scale (FACT-BRM) was used to survey 144 patients with CML receiving the imatinib mesylate treatment in Jiangsu Province. The effects of relevant factors on QOL were processed with the variance analysis from the perspective of general demographic characteristics. The effects of relevant factors on the efficacy were explored with the multiple linear regression analysis. Results The total QOL score of patient with CML was 99.08±20.91. Scores of dimensions, i.e. physiological status, social/family status, emotional status, functional status, additional physiological status, and additional emotional status, were 19.52±5.36, 16.37±6.72, 15.89±4.72, 13.08±6.18, 18.98±4.63, and 15.24±4.28, respectively. The multivariate linear regression analysis indicated that age, education level, income, and type of medical insurance were major factors influencing the patients QOL. Conclusion The QOL in patient with CML was poor. QOL should be considered as an index for assessing the clinical efficacy of imatinib mesylate for the treatment of CML.

Key words: imatinib mesylate, chronic myeloid leukemia, quality of life, root case analysis