Quality of Life among Cancer Patients in Iran

Being diagnosed with cancer is a stressful event that may have negative effects on the quality of life of the patient. The purpose of this study was to determine the quality of life of cancer patients in Iran.

This systematic review is a meta-analysis study that was conducted in 2020. Five electronic databases and Google Scholar were used to search for original research papers published up to December 20, 2020, on the quality of life of cancer patients in Iran. Overall, 30 articles were selected and analyzed using the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis 2.2.064. Heterogeneity of the studies was assessed using Cochran’s Q-test statistics and I2 test, and publication bias was assessed using Egger’s test. Meta-regression was performed to assess the variables suspected to affect the heterogeneity. The outcomes of the studies were combined using the random‑effects model.

Average quality of life among cancer patients was 50.83±3.07 (44.80-56.86: 95% CI). The highest quality of life was observed in the city of Qazvin in 2012 at 103.07±1.61 (100.11-106.03: 95% CI) and the lowest quality of life was observed in the city of Tehran in 2010 at 4.05±0.36 (3.35-4.75: 95% CI). A statistically significant correlation was observed between the quality of life, publication year, average age, and sample size (p<0.05).

The results of this study indicated that the average quality of life of cancer patients in Iran was moderate.