Comparison of functional and symptom quality of life scales by extent of nodal sampling, separately in the unadjusted and IPTW-adjusted cohorts
| Scale | Unadjusted cohort | IPTW-adjusted cohort | ||||
| LND group (n=101) | SLN group (n=120) | P* | LND group (n=101) | SLN group (n=120) | P* | |
| Functional scales† | ||||||
| Global health status | 0.18 (0.61) | 0.44 | ||||
| Mean (SD) | 80.8 (13.5) | 77.6 (19.9) | 80.6 (12.7) | 78.8 (19.4) | ||
| Median (IQR) | 83.3 (75.0–91.7) | 83.3 (66.7–91.7) | 83.3 (75.0–91.7) | 83.3 (66.7–91.7) | ||
| Score of 100, % | 12.9% | 16.7% | 11.0% | 18.5% | ||
| Physical functioning | 0.90 (0.83) | 0.91 | ||||
| Mean (SD) | 87.9 (15.8) | 87.6 (17.8) | 87.2 (16.2) | 87.5 (18.4) | ||
| Median (IQR) | 93.3 (80.0–100.0) | 93.3 (86.7–100.0) | 93.3 (80.0–100.0) | 93.3 (86.7–100.0) | ||
| Score of 100, % | 42.6% | 44.2% | 40.1% | 45.5% | ||
| Role functioning | 0.76 (0.34) | 0.86 | ||||
| Mean (SD) | 90.8 (17.4) | 91.5 (19.8) | 90.9 (16.8) | 91.3 (20.3) | ||
| Median (IQR) | 100.0 (83.3–100.0) | 100.0 (100.0–100.0) | 100.0 (83.3–100.0) | 100.0 (100.0–100.0) | ||
| Score of 100, % | 72.3% | 78.3% | 72.5% | 78.3% | ||
| Emotional functioning | 0.03 (0.09) | 0.03 | ||||
| Mean (SD) | 88.9 (14.1) | 84.0 (18.7) | 89.2 (13.7) | 84.4 (17.7) | ||
| Median (IQR) | 91.7 (83.3–100.0) | 91.7 (75.0–100.0) | 91.7 (83.3–100.0) | 91.7 (75.0–100.0) | ||
| Score of 100, % | 42.6% | 38.3% | 43.6% | 37.9% | ||
| Cognitive functioning | 0.72 (0.83) | 0.98 | ||||
| Mean (SD) | 88.9 (16.0) | 89.7 (16.5) | 89.5 (15.6) | 89.5 (17.3) | ||
| Median (IQR) | 100.0 (83.3–100.0) | 100.0 (83.3–100.0) | 100.0 (83.3–100.0) | 100.0 (83.3–100.0) | ||
| Score of 100, % | 57.4% | 55.8% | 59.5% | 55.9% | ||
| Social functioning | 0.35 (0.77) | 0.47 | ||||
| Mean (SD) | 93.9 (13.9) | 91.7 (20.0) | 93.7 (13.8) | 92.0 (19.7) | ||
| Median (IQR) | 100.0 (100.0–100.0) | 100.0 (100.0–100.0) | 100.0 (100.0–100.0) | 100.0 (100.0–100.0) | ||
| Score of 100, % | 80.2% | 79.2% | 79.5% | 80.3% | ||
| Symptom scales and items‡ | ||||||
| Fatigue | 0.74 (0.93) | 0.70 | ||||
| Mean (SD) | 18.3 (18.0) | 19.2 (19.5) | 18.1 (17.4) | 19.0 (19.3) | ||
| Median (IQR) | 11.1 (0.0–33.3) | 11.1 (0.0–33.3) | 11.1 (0.0–33.3) | 11.1 (0.0–33.3) | ||
| Score of 0, % | 30.7% | 31.7% | 30.6% | 32.2% | ||
| Pain | 0.91 (0.96) | 0.87 | ||||
| Mean (SD) | 14.5 (20.6) | 14.9 (22.3) | 14.3 (19.6) | 14.8 (22.3) | ||
| Median (IQR) | 0.0 (0.0–33.3) | 0.0 (0.0–16.7) | 0.0 (0.0–33.3) | 0.0 (0.0–16.7) | ||
| Score of 0, % | 57.4% | 54.2% | 56.7% | 54.6% | ||
| Dyspnea, % | 0.92 (0.82) | 0.84 | ||||
| 0 | 77.2% | 78.3% | 76.5% | 78.0% | ||
| 33.3 | 19.8% | 20.0% | 20.2% | 20.4% | ||
| 66.7 or 100 | 3.0% | 21.7% | 3.3% | 1.6% | ||
*Each scale was compared between the two groups based on fitting a linear regression model. In the unweighted analyses the p value in the parentheses is based on the non-parametric Wilcoxon rank-sum test.
†Higher functional scores indicate better functional well-being.
‡Higher symptom scores indicate worse symptom.
IPTW, inverse-probability of treatment weighting; LND, lymphadenectomy; SLN, sentinel lymph node sampling.