Quality of life appears similar between survivors of indolent and aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Few studies have examined the quality of life (QOL) in survivors of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). A total of 109 patients with NHL (58 aggressive [AGG], 51 indolent [IND]) completed two health-related QOL assessments using the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Healthy Survey (MOS SF-36) and the Functional Assessment in Cancer Therapy - Fatigue (FACT-F). Scores between IND and AGG were compared using a two-sample t-test. Multiple linear regression was performed to account for any potentially explanatory variables. Overall, 70.6% had received chemotherapy and 55% had received immunotherapy. Some 17.6% of the IND group had received no therapy. The overall physical and mental component QOL scores of the SF-36 did not differ between survivors. Physical function in survivors of IND was significantly better when compared with that of AGG NHL. Our study reports a similar overall QOL between survivors of IND and AGG NHL. Physical function, however, may be more impaired in survivors of AGG NHL.