Prevalence of cancer-related fatigue after treatment in patients with non-metastatic gastrointestinal cancers

Abstract

Background: Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is a prevalent and distressing symptom that persist long after treatment, significantly diminishing the quality of life in cancer survivors-particularly those with gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence and severity of CRF one year after treatment and to examine its associations with demographic and clinical characteristics in patients with non-metastatic GI cancers. Methods: In this observational cross-sectional study, 103 patients with non-metastatic GI cancers who had completed treatment at least 12 months prior were recruited from Besat Hospital and Mahdieh Radiotherapy Center in Hamadan between 2020 and 2021 using a census sampling method. Fatigue was assessed with the Brief Fatigue Inventory (BFI-10), and associations with demographic variables, cancer stage, tumor site, and treatment type were analyzed using SPSS version 26. Results: The mean age of participants was 60.43 +/- 10.52 years, and the average disease duration was 3.28 +/- 0.45 years. The mean fatigue score was 5.63 +/- 2.61 on a 0-10 scale. Most participants were male (51.5), married (85.4), had less than a high school education (49.5), and were self-employed (57.5). Rectal cancer was the most common diagnosis (53.4), with the majority of patients diagnosed at stage III (68). Fatigue severity was classified as mild in 26.2, moderate in 34.0, and severe in 39.8 of patients. Higher fatigue severity was significantly associated with female gender, advanced disease stage (stage III), and lower educational level (P < 0.05). No significant associations were found with age, disease duration, marital status, occupation, tumor location, or treatment type. Conclusion: A considerable proportion of patients with non-metastatic GI cancers continue to experience moderate to severe CRF one year post-treatment. The greater fatigue burden among women and those with advanced-stage disease underscores the importance of routine fatigue assessment and targeted supportive care interventions for these at-risk populations.