Association between symptom experience and long-term survival in people treated for cancer.

K Hofsø, T Rustøen, K Bjordal, M Hagen, B Aouizerat, G L Astrup

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Article in ESMO open, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

K HofsøDepartment of Postoperative and Critical Care Nursing, Division of Emergencies and Critical Care, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway; Department for Postgraduate Studies, Lovisenberg Diaconal University College, Oslo, Norway; Department of Public Health and Interdisciplinary Health Science, Institute of Health and Society, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.

T RustøenDepartment of Public Health and Interdisciplinary Health Science, Institute of Health and Society, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; Department of Research and Development, Division of Emergencies and Critical Care, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.

K BjordalResearch Support Services, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway; Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.

M HagenDepartment of Nursing and Health Promotion, Faculty of Health Sciences, Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo, Norway.

B AouizeratDepartment of Maxillofacial Surgery, College of Dentistry, New York University, New York, USA; Translational Research Center, College of Dentistry, New York University, New York, USA.

G L AstrupDepartment of Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway. Electronic address: gurol@ous-hf.no.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundBoth symptoms and other aspects of health-related quality of life have been shown to be prognostic factors for cancer survival. Less is known about the association between distinct symptom subgroups and survival. Thus, this prospective study aimed to explore the possible association between symptom class membership during cancer treatment and long-term all-cause mortality, adjusting for known sociodemographic and clinical prognostic factors. PATIENTS AND

methodsBetween 2008 and 2011, 534 patients with cancer were included in a study assessing self-reported symptoms during cancer treatment. Symptom class membership before initiation of new treatment was investigated and four subgroups were identified on the basis of the occurrence of symptoms [i.e. 'all low' (28% of all patients), 'all high' (28%), 'high psychological' (23%), and 'low psychological' (21%)]. In the present follow-up analysis, multivariate Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate the strength of a possible association between symptom class membership and all-cause mortality by comparing the 'all high' subgroup with the three other subgroups 12-15 years after study inclusion.

resultsWhen adjusted for sociodemographic and clinical variables (i.e. sex, age, cancer diagnosis, and comorbidities), belonging to the 'all high' subgroup compared with the three other subgroups was associated with significantly higher mortality (hazard ratio 1.48, 95% confidence interval 1.14-1.94).

conclusionThe present study identified an association between symptom experience and long-term survival. This finding suggests that symptom class membership may be an important prognostic marker for identifying patients at increased risk of all-cause mortality.

Indexed as

cancerpatient-reported outcomessurvivalsymptoms

Identifiers

PMID42767083

DOI10.1016/j.esmoop.2026.108579

PMCPMC13629325

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