Functional Status and Associated Factors among Cancer Patients of West Tripura District: A Community-based Cross-sectional Study.

Background: Cancer patients experience deterioration in their functional status and it is regarded as an important cancer patient outcome metric.

Objectives: (1) To assess the functional status of cancer patients of West Tripura District using the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Scale. (2) To study the sociodemographic factors associated with functional status of cancer patients. (3) To study the disease-related factors associated with functional status of cancer patients.

Materials and methods: This was a community-based cross-sectional study conducted among 180 randomly selected cancer patients (≥18 years of age) in West Tripura District. The functional status was assessed using ECOG performance status scale.

Results: The study highlighted that majority of the participants were in the age group of 55-64 years (40.0%), had squamous cell carcinoma (59.40%), and TNM Stage II of cancer (34%). Bivariate analysis showed that age, religion, caste, body mass index, blood pressure, site of cancer, pathological type of cancer, and TNM staging were significantly associated with functional status of cancer patients (P < 0.05). Multiple logistic regression showed factors such as religion, caste, site of cancer, pathological type of cancer, and TNM staging of cancer patients significantly affected the functional status in cancer patients (P < 0.05).

Conclusion: The current study highlighted that majority of the cancer patients had poor functional status with site, type, and TNM staging of the cancer significantly affecting the functional status. Hence, targeted interventions with palliative care should be more focused on certain types and advanced stages of the disease to enhance functional performance and health outcomes.