What is the clinical evidence from this study?

Study design: Cohort. Population: Colorectal cancer (n=905). Intervention: Sleep duration <7 hours/night vs. Sleep duration ≥7 hours/night. Primary outcome: Changes in functional and symptom-related quality of life domains (p=<0.01).

What question did this study set out to answer?

This research investigates how sleep duration affects quality of life trajectories in colorectal cancer survivors over 24 months post-treatment.

April 5, 2026

Abstract 869: Sleep duration predicts quality of life during colorectal cancer survivorship across age groups: Results from the ColoCare Study.

Q: What are the key findings of this study?

Sleeping fewer than 7 hours per night was consistently associated with lower functional quality of life and greater symptom burden in colorectal cancer survivors across age groups (p<0.01).

Q: What question did this study set out to answer?

This research investigates how sleep duration affects quality of life trajectories in colorectal cancer survivors over 24 months post-treatment.

Key Result

Sleeping fewer than 7 hours per night was consistently associated with lower functional quality of life and greater symptom burden in colorectal cancer survivors across age groups (p<0.01).

Key Points

This research investigates how sleep duration affects quality of life trajectories in colorectal cancer survivors over 24 months post-treatment.
Analyzed 905 colorectal cancer patients using mixed-effects models.
Evaluated sleep duration and quality of life at baseline, 6, 12, and 24 months.
Used Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and EORTC-QLQ-C30 for assessments.
Higher global and emotional functioning reported at 12 and 24 months (p < 0.01).
Lower functioning and greater symptoms were associated with sleep duration of <7 hours.
Early-onset colorectal cancer patients exhibited unique quality of life challenges but improved over time.

Study Design

Type

Cohort (n=905)

Multicenter

Yes

Structured PICO

Does sleep duration <7 hours/night worsen quality of life trajectories in colorectal cancer survivors compared to ≥7 hours/night?

Population

905 colorectal cancer patients (early-onset <50 years and late-onset ≥50 years) after primary tumor resection from three sites of the international ColoCare Study

Intervention

Sleep duration <7 hours/night

Comparator

Sleep duration ≥7 hours/night

Outcome

Quality of life (QoL) trajectories over 24 months (functional and symptom-related domains measured by EORTC-QLQ-C30)patient reported

Short sleep duration (<7 hours) is consistently associated with worse functional and symptom-specific quality of life in colorectal cancer survivors, regardless of age of onset.

Main Result

p-value: p=<0.01

Abstract

Abstract Background Early-onset colorectal cancer (EO-CRC, 50 years) survivors often face unique quality of life (QoL) challenges compared with late-onset (LO-CRC, ≥50 years) patients. Sleep disturbances are common during and after cancer treatment and sleep duration of 7 hours may worsen physical and emotional symptoms, however, longitudinal evidence on QoL is limited. This study examined the influence of sleep duration on QoL trajectories over 24 months after primary tumor resection across EO- and LO-CRC patients. Methods We used mixed-effects models to assess changes in functional and symptom-related QoL domains by age group and sleep duration in 905 CRC patients from three sites of international ColoCare Study: Heidelberg University Hospital, Washington University St. Louis and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. We assessed sleep duration by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and QoL scales using the EORTC-QLQ-C30 at enrolment (baseline), and at 6, 12, and 24 months. Time (baseline, 6, 12, 24 months), age group (EO-CRC vs. LO-CRC), and sleep duration (7 vs. ≥7 hours/night) were included as fixed effects, while QoL scores were used as random effects. Interactions between time, age group, and sleep duration were tested. Results Functional QoL scores improved over time, with higher global and emotional functioning at 12 and 24 months (p 0.01), while cognitive and role functioning remained stable. Symptom-related QoL fluctuated, with higher dyspnea at 6 months that generally improved by 12 and 24 months. Sleeping fewer than seven hours per night was consistently associated with lower global, social, role, and cognitive functioning as well as greater fatigue, insomnia, nausea, pain, constipation, and appetite loss at baseline (p 0.01). EO-CRC patients reported higher physical but lower social and role functioning as well as higher fatigue, nausea and financial difficulties at baseline (p 0.01) with improvements across most domains over time. EO-CRC patients with short sleep duration experienced lower insomnia at 12 months compared to LO-CRC patients sleeping ≥7 hours (p 0.05). Three-way interactions were limited, suggesting the effects of insufficient sleep on QoL were broadly similar across age groups. Discussion Sleep duration is a predictor of QoL in CRC survivors, independent of age. EO-CRC patients exhibited distinct baseline deficits in social and role functioning, yet short sleep adversely affected all groups. These findings highlight the potential benefit of interventions targeting sleep to improve both functional and symptom-specific QoL throughout CRC survivorship. Integrating sleep screening and management into routine follow-up could further enhance QoL. Citation Format: Victoria Damerell, Sheetal Hardikar, Apurva S. Medhe, Nathalie Nguyen, Christoph Kahlert, Christopher I. Li, David Shibata, Doratha A. Byrd, Cornelia M. Ulrich, Jane C. Figueiredo, Adetunji T. Toriola, Anita R. Peoples, Biljana Gigic. Sleep duration predicts quality of life during colorectal cancer survivorship across age groups: Results from the ColoCare Study abstract. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2026; Part 1 (Regular Abstracts); 2026 Apr 17-22; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2026;86(7 Suppl):Abstract nr 869.

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