A high level of fatigue among long-term survivors of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma: results from the longitudinal population-based PROFILES registry in the south of the Netherlands

Abstract

The course of fatigue and quality of life in survivors of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma is unknown. The aims of this study were, therefore, to assess fatigue and quality of life in patients with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma following primary treatment, compare fatigue and quality of life in these patients with those of an age- and sex matched normative population to assess the severity of concerns and identify associations with fatigue of survivors who remained fatigued. The population-based Eindhoven Cancer Registry was used to select all patients diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma from 1999–2009. The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire and the Fatigue Assessment Scale were completed once by 824 survivors of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (80% response rate); 434 survivors completed these questionnaires again 1 year later. Survivors of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma reported more clinically relevant fatigue up till 10 years post-diagnosis compared to a normative population (P