Severe reflux, malnutrition and health-related quality of life after oesophageal cancer surgery: A prospective nationwide cohort study

Introduction: While most survivors of oesophageal cancer suffer from multiple symptoms, studies on combined symptom burden are scarce, particularly when looking at long-term outcomes. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the association between gastro-oesophageal reflux and health-related quality of life in malnourished survivors during the first years after oesophagectomy for cancer.

Materials and methods: This nationwide prospective cohort study included all Swedish patients who underwent curatively intended oesophagectomy for oesophageal cancer between 2013 and 2020 with 3-year follow-up. Linear mixed effect models were used to analyse the associations between reflux symptoms, malnutrition and HRQL at 1-, 2- and 3 years post-surgery and were presented with mean score difference (MSD) and 95 % confidence intervals (CI).

Results: Among 406 included individuals, malnourished survivors with severe reflux reported more problems with nausea/vomiting (MSD 16.3, 95 % CI: 11.4 to 21.3), pain (MSD 16.5, 95 % CI: 10.2 to 22.8), body image (MSD 12.3, 95 % CI: 5.6 to 19.0), eating restrictions (MSD 11.3, 95 % CI: 6.1 to 16.5), swallowing saliva (MSD 10.0, 95 % CI: 5.2 to 14.8), dry mouth (MSD 10.5, 95 % CI: 2.4 to 18.7), and taste (MSD 14.1, 95 % CI: 7.1 to 21.0) compared to malnourished survivors with no reflux. Nausea/vomiting, financial difficulties, body image, and cognitive function were consistently worse for malnourished individuals with reflux throughout the 3 years.

Conclusions: The study suggests that gastro-oesophageal reflux negatively influences health-related quality of life in malnourished oesophageal cancer survivors. Nausea and/or vomiting were consistently worse for malnourished individuals with reflux independent of time point.