Figure 1.
Figure 2.
Socio-demographic and other characteristics of colorectal cancer patients, grouped by gender (n = 239)
| Variables | Total number (%) | Male (%) | Female (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gender | |||
| Male | 134 (56.1) | ||
| Female | 105 (43.9) | ||
| Age | |||
| 30–39 | 3 (1.3) | 1 (0.7) | 2 (1.9) |
| 40–49 | 22 (9.2) | 7 (5.2) | 15 (14.3) |
| 50–59 | 46 (19.2) | 27 (20.1) | 19 (18.1) |
| 60–69 | 68 (28.5) | 49 (36.6) | 19 (18.1) |
| 70–79 | 61 (25.5) | 28 (20.9) | 33 (31.4) |
| 80–89+ | 39 (16.3) | 22 (16.4) | 17 (16.2) |
| Education | |||
| Unfinished primary school | 8 (3.4) | 4 (3.0) | 4 (3.8) |
| Primary education | 43 (18) | 16 (11.9) | 27 (25.7) |
| Secondary education | 138 (57.8) | 86 (64.2) | 52 (49.5) |
| Higher education / university degree | 43 (18) | 25 (18.7) | 18 (17.1) |
| Master’s degree / Ph.D. | 7 (3) | 3 (2.2) | 4 (3.8) |
| Marital status | |||
| Divorced | 11 (4.7) | 8 (6.0) | 3 (2.9) |
| Married or common-law | 167 (70.2) | 101 (75.9) | 66 (62.9) |
| Single | 22 (9.2) | 15 (11.3) | 7 (6.7) |
| Widowed | 38 (16) | 9 (6.8) | 29 (27.6) |
| Primary location | |||
| Colon (C18) or rectosigmoid junction (C19) | 114 (47.7) | 54 (40.3) | 60 (57.1) |
| Rectum (C20) | 125 (52.3) | 80 (59.7) | 45 (42.9) |
| TNM staging | |||
| Stage I | 41 (17.2) | 21 (15.7) | 20 (19.0) |
| Stage II | 53 (22.2) | 21 (15.7) | 32 (30.5) |
| Stage III | 145 (60.7) | 92 (68.7) | 53 (50.5) |
| Treatment | |||
| Surgical treatment | 92 (38.5) | 40 (29.9) | 52 (49.5) |
| Combination of radiation and surgery | 21 (8.9) | 13 (9.7) | 8 (7.6) |
| Combination of radiation, systemic and surgical treatment | 96 (40.2) | 68 (50.8) | 28 (26.7) |
| Combination of systemic and surgical treatment | 30 (12.6) | 13 (9.7) | 17 (16.2) |
Mean scores with standard deviations, compare differences between two independent groups with Mann-Whitney U-test for all scales of the EORTC QLQ C30 for CRC patients by gender
| Total | Male | Female | U | p | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MS | SD | MS | SD | MS | SD | |||
| Global health status/QoL | 68.8 | 20.1 | 69.8 | 20.1 | 67.4 | 20.3 | 6660.5 | 0.474 |
| Physical functioning | 85 | 18.0 | 86.4 | 17.8 | 83.3 | 18.2 | 6075 | 0.064 |
| Role functioning | 82.5 | 24.7 | 81.7 | 26.2 | 83.5 | 22.7 | 7030 | 0.992 |
| Emotional functioning | 86.5 | 17.1 | 89.4 | 14.7 | 82.8 | 19.3 | 5446.5 | 0.002 |
| Cognitive functioning | 90.1 | 15.3 | 92.0 | 11.9 | 87.6 | 18.6 | 6294 | 0.109 |
| Social functioning | 83.9 | 22.1 | 84.7 | 20.8 | 82.9 | 23.6 | 6907 | 0.791 |
| Fatigue | 18.1 | 20.3 | 14.3 | 18.5 | 23.1 | 21.4 | 5179 | <0.001 |
| Nausea/vomiting | 1.3 | 5.4 | 0.4 | 2.5 | 2.4 | 7.5 | 6449.5 | 0.007 |
| Pain | 13.3 | 20.6 | 11.7 | 19.9 | 15.2 | 21.3 | 6314.5 | 0.122 |
| Dyspnea | 4.2 | 11.9 | 3.5 | 11.1 | 5.1 | 12.9 | 6668.5 | 0.286 |
| Insomnia | 20.8 | 28.1 | 16.4 | 24.4 | 26.3 | 31.6 | 5884.5 | 0.015 |
| Appetite loss | 6.1 | 15.9 | 4.2 | 12.5 | 8.6 | 19.1 | 6398 | 0.053 |
| Constipation | 8.2 | 17.9 | 7.0 | 14.8 | 9.8 | 21.1 | 6802 | 0.531 |
| Diarrhea | 8.6 | 17.3 | 8.7 | 16.3 | 8.6 | 18.5 | 6861.5 | 0.653 |
| Financial problems | 12.1 | 24.4 | 11.0 | 23.8 | 13.4 | 25.2 | 6520.5 | 0.315 |
Mean scores with standard deviations, compare differences between two independent groups with Mann-Whitney U-test for all scales of the EORTC QLQ CR29 for CRC patients by gender
| Total | Male | Female | U | p | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MS | SD | MS | SD | MS | SD | |||
| Body image | 87.2 | 21.9 | 90.0 | 18.5 | 83.7 | 25.3 | 6094.5 | 0.047 |
| Anxiety | 62.1 | 27.9 | 65.9 | 26.0 | 57.2 | 29.5 | 5979.5 | 0.029 |
| Weight | 83.5 | 25.5 | 87.3 | 22.3 | 78.7 | 28.5 | 5879.5 | 0.010 |
| Sexual function (men) | 35.9 | 26.6 | 35.9 | 26.6 | ||||
| Sexual function (women) | 17.2 | 21.9 | 17.2 | 21.9 | ||||
| Urinary frequency | 24.6 | 23.5 | 25.7 | 23.6 | 23.2 | 23.3 | 6598 | 0.394 |
| Blood and mucus in stool | 2.9 | 7.6 | 2.7 | 7.4 | 3.0 | 7.9 | 6969 | 0.835 |
| Stool frequency* | 12.0 | 17.0 | 13.8 | 17.8 | 9.6 | 15.7 | 6019.5 | 0.045 |
| Urinary incontinence | 9.5 | 20.6 | 8.0 | 20.1 | 11.4 | 21.1 | 6330.5 | 0.064 |
| Dysuria | 3.9 | 13.4 | 5.4 | 14.8 | 1.9 | 11.2 | 6311.5 | 0.008 |
| Abdominal pain | 10.0 | 18.1 | 9.4 | 17.6 | 10.8 | 18.8 | 6838 | 0.628 |
| Buttock pain | 9.8 | 19.5 | 10.4 | 20.2 | 8.9 | 18.6 | 6789 | 0.532 |
| Bloated feeling | 17.6 | 22.2 | 15.7 | 20.7 | 20.0 | 23.8 | 6407 | 0.179 |
| Dry mouth | 14.5 | 21.9 | 14.9 | 21.1 | 14.0 | 23.0 | 6707.5 | 0.463 |
| Hair loss | 2.7 | 10.9 | 1.8 | 9.5 | 3.8 | 12.5 | 6585 | 0.073 |
| Taste | 5.9 | 14.1 | 6.0 | 13.5 | 5.7 | 14.9 | 6859.5 | 0.602 |
| Flatulence* | 23.8 | 24.5 | 22.4 | 24.1 | 25.7 | 25.0 | 6528 | 0.293 |
| Faecal incontinence* | 13.4 | 22.8 | 15.9 | 24.4 | 10.3 | 20.3 | 6148 | 0.055 |
| Sore skin* | 13.5 | 23.0 | 13.9 | 22.9 | 13.0 | 23.3 | 6844 | 0.657 |
| Embarrassment* | 14.9 | 26.7 | 14.6 | 26.1 | 15.2 | 27.5 | 6792 | 0.989 |
| Stoma care problems | 14.8 | 26.6 | 11.4 | 22.3 | 20.0 | 31.9 | 418 | 0.321 |
| Impotence | 31.2 | 30.2 | 31.2 | 30.2 | ||||
| Dyspareunia | 10.9 | 24.5 | 10.9 | 24.5 | ||||