Quality of life in patients with esophageal cancer.

Evaluation of health related quality of life (HRQOL) is an important outcome measure for patients with esophageal cancer. The patient's perception of HRQOL is the outcome of interest rather than that of the health care professional, family or caregiver. HRQOL is not simply a list of symptoms, as patients may report good HRQOL despite experiencing symptoms of their disease or its treatment. HRQOL is similar after surgery alone or chemoradiation followed by surgery although recovery is more rapid after minimally invasive or transhiatal esophagectomy. Longterm survivors report HRQOL similar to the normal population for long term survivors.