Quality of life in patients with choroidal melanoma: Results of a pilot study

Purpose. To assess validity of a short, widely-used health-related quality of life instrument in patients with choroidal melanoma and its appropriateness for use in the Collaborative Ocular Melanoma Study, a large clinical trial in patients with that disease, and to test feasibility of various methods of instrument administration. Methods. The SF-36 was administered to 31 choroidal melanoma patients identified from two ocular oncology practices. Results. Twenty-three patients had already been treated for choroidal melanoma; 20 patients were treated with some form of radiation. The remaining 8 patients had not yet been treated. None of the patients had been diagnosed with metastasis. Patients ranged in age from 37 to 85 years with a median of 60 years; 55% were female. In-person interview and telephone methods of instrument administration performed better than self-administration in terms of missing items due to non-response (0% vs. 3.5%). The overall SF-36 health profile for the choroidal melanoma patients was similar in shape to that for a general U.S. population sample 55-64 years of age, although the choroidal melanoma patients averaged 3 to 13 points higher, indicating better status, for all except the "role functioning-emotional" scale. Correlations between better eye/worse eye visual acuity and each of the SF-36 scales showed that poorer vision in the better eye was associated with poorer "physical function" (r=0.31) and lower "general health perceptions" (r=0.29). Poorer vision in the worse eye was associated with lower "vitality" (r=0.43), more "bodily pain" (r=0.29), and poorer "physical function" (r=0.28). Conclusions. Results supported the validity of the SF-36 in this population, and suggest that some of the SF-36 scales, particularly "physical functioning" and "general health perceptions", are sensitive to level of visual acuity.