Gastrointestinal side effects and quality of life in patients receiving radiation therapy.

A sample of 101 patients from four radiation oncology clinics participated in a study to describe the relative impact of gastrointestinal side effects of radiation therapy on the psychological and physical well-being dimensions of quality of life. Stepwise regression analysis showed that 44.2% of the variance in psychological well-being was accounted for by patient-reported gastrointestinal problems (21.5%), tension-anxiety (11.8%), other side effects of radiation (5.4%), and satisfaction with care (5.5%). A similar analysis revealed that 50.7% of the variance in physical well-being was accounted for by patient-reported fatigue (35.5%), gastrointestinal problems (8.8%), other side effects (4%), and willingness to comply (2.4%). Although treatment dose and field size directly impact on the severity of side effects, these results suggest that it is the perception of side effects as problems that impacts on psychological and physical well-being.