OBJECTIVES: Breast cancer is one of the major cancers in Chinese women which seriously affects women’s health. This study assessed the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of women breast cancers in eastern China using the Simplified Chinese version of EORTC QLQ-C30 and EORTC QLQ-BR23 questionnaires. The study has two aims: to explore the latent factor structure of two European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaires (EORTC QLQ-C30 and EORTC QLQ-BR23), and to investigate the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of women breast cancer patients and its associated factors in eastern China.

METHODS: Performed from October 2014 to February 2015 in Qingdao Municipal Hospital, this cross-sectional and descriptive study enrolled totally 621 women breast cancers. EOTRC QLQ-C30 and QLQ-BR23 were used to evaluate the HRQOL of the participants (QLQ-C30 for cancer in general and QLQ-BR23 specific for breast cancer). The exploratory factor analysis (EFA), non-parametric test and multiple linear regression were the main statistical methods we used.

RESULTS: CONCLUSIONS: Quality of life in women breast cancers in eastern China was significantly different in regard with patients’ clinical characteristics. These results suggest that HRQOL should be considered as an important factor when making clinical decisions for women breast cancer patients.