Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the quality of life of early breast cancer patients undergoing adjuvant chemotherapy – an observational, multicenter study

Background and purpose: We evaluated the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in early-stage breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy. Patients and methods: The study involved 180 patients with stage I–III breast cancer who initiated adjuvant chemotherapy between June 2020 and May 2021. The pre-pandemic comparison data included 113 early breast cancer patients who began adjuvant chemotherapy between November 2018 and August 2019. HRQoL was assessed using the EORTC QLQ-C30 at baseline and again after 3 and 6 months. The subscales were compared between the COVID-19 pandemic and the pre-pandemic eras. Results: We observed deterioration on almost all HRQoL subscales of the patients treated during the pandemic from baseline to 3 months. After the chemotherapy at 6 months, the scales remained deteriorated, whereas only appetite loss and emotional functioning improved. A comparison between the pandemic and the pre-pandemic eras revealed that several HRQoL subscales showed better results during chemotherapy in the pandemic era. Global health and role functioning at 6 months presented declined levels during the pandemic. Interpretation: The well-being of breast cancer patients during the chemotherapy treatment in the pandemic era was moderately better than in the pre-pandemic era. Patients in the pandemic era might have reported fewer symptoms during the treatment, as the focus was on the COVID-19 pandemic and its restrictions.