Relationship between patient-reported health-related quality of life as measured with the SF-36 or SF-12 and their mortality risk in patients with diverse cancer type: a meta-analysis

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to investigate the association between health-related quality of life (HRQOL) as measured with the Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36) or Short Form 12 Health Survey (SF-12) and mortality risk in patients with diverse types of cancer.

A literature search was conducted using CINAHL, PubMed/MEDLINE, and Scopus databases to collect articles published before December 2022. Of these, observational studies that examined the association between HRQOL and mortality risk in patients with various cancer types were extracted. A subgroup analysis with a focus on the timing when HRQOL assessment was performed.

Nineteen studies were included in the final analysis. Through overall analysis of the timing of HRQOL measurements, most domains were found to be significantly associated with the mortality risk, irrespective of the timing of assessment, but HRQOL assessed in pre-treatment and palliative phases had particularly strong association.

In the present review, the physical functioning domain of HRQOL was found to be associated with mortality risk in a diverse group of cancer patients. This suggests the need for supportive care to improve HRQOL in cancer patients.