Quality of Life of Hematological Neoplasm Survivors After Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

Purpose

This study aimed to assess changes in the quality of life (QoL) of patients with hematological neoplasms who underwent hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), identify factors influencing these changes, and quantify the associated monetary value.

Methods

A total of 122 hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) recipients participated in the study completing a recall survey with questions about 3 different stages: (1) pre-HSCT (baseline), (2) 6 months post-transplantation, and (3) between the first and fifth post-transplantation years. The study first estimated the incremental variation in QoL between phases and conducted regression analyses to identify factors linked to QoL changes. Second, it explored the transition probabilities of QoL between phases and their monetary value.

Results

Baseline QoL predominantly determined future QoL changes, with disease type, transplantation type, and other sociodemographic factors proving insignificant. Notably, patients with the lowest baseline QoL experienced greater QoL improvement post-HSCT compared to others. Specifically, 90% of patients elevated their QoL quartile within the first post-transplantation year, with over 20% reaching the highest quartile and an average QoL increase of 0.619. The incremental economic benefit for patients with poor baseline QoL, compared to those with high baseline QoL, was 56,880€.

Conclusion

This study provides new, useful, and relevant information on the evolution of the QoL of these patients. Our findings support that HSCT significantly enhances QoL for survivors with initially low QoL, while those with high pre-HSCT QoL maintain their levels. Furthermore, other factors were not significant contributors to this relationship. The study introduced a novel method to measure the economic benefit of incremental QoL.