Assessing health-related quality of life in patients with keratinocyte carcinoma: insights from a multicenter cross-sectional study.

Objectives: Keratinocyte carcinoma (KC) represents 90% of all skin cancers and despite its relatively low mortality, may affect patients' health-related quality of life (HRQoL). This Belgian/Dutch cross-sectional study measured the impact of KC on HRQoL using generic instruments and a disease-specific questionnaire.

Methods: HRQoL was measured using the disease-specific Basal and Squamous Cell Carcinoma Quality of Life (BaSQoL) questionnaire, consisting of five domains. Sub-scores range from 0 to 3, with a higher score meaning higher impact on HRQoL. Additionally, the generic instruments EuroQol 5-Dimension 5-level (EQ-5D-5 L), visual analog scale (VAS), 15-dimensions (15D) and the time trade-off (TTO) technique were employed. Scores range from 0 to 1, with 0 meaning death and 1 meaning perfect health. HRQoL scores were stratified by patients with single and multiple KC. Generalized linear models assessed differences in mean HRQoL scores across KC groups, adjusting for relevant covariates.

Results: The study included 715 patients; 332 with single KC and 383 with multiple KC. The BaSQoL subscores for single and multiple KC patients ranged from 0.44 to 0.52 for the 'appearance' subdomain to 1.16 and 1.27 for the 'other people' subdomain, indicating a low-to-moderate impact on HRQoL. Patients with multiple KC showed significantly higher impact on BaSQoL 'worries' subdomain (p = 0.002) and worse perceived health on the EQ-5D-5 L (p = 0.004) compared to patients with single KC. No significant differences were observed in VAS, 15D or TTO between single and multiple KC.

Conclusion: Findings suggest, both with disease-specific and generic instruments, a moderate to low impact of KC on HRQoL.