Abstract
BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is prevalent in China, but many features of CRC patients remain to be better characterized. We aimed to describe the characteristics of clinical epidemiology in CRC patients in China and to evaluate the changes in health-related quality of life (HRQOL) before and after treatment. METHODS: A hospital-based survey was conducted among CRC patients from 2020 to 2021, covering 14 cities in China. Data on demographic and clinical characteristics, disease knowledge, medical service utilization, medical expenditure, and HRQOL before and after treatment were surveyed. The multivariable regressions and structural equation model (SEM) were used to assess the association between characteristics and HRQOL. RESULTS: In the survey of 4589 patients, nearly 80% were diagnosed at an age older than 50, with 59.5% being men and 54.5% having rectal cancer. Approximately 35.2% were diagnosed at stage IV and 37.5% had metastases. Prior to diagnosis, only 2.6% of patients had a colonoscopy screening, with the primary barrier being unawareness. After treatment, there was a significant decline in the overall HRQOL scores (66.98 vs. 65.39, P < 0.001) and a significant association between patients' awareness of CRC treatment and higher HRQOL changes (beta: 0.98, 95% CI 0.39-1.57; P = 0.001). The SEM model showed good model fit, revealing that awareness of CRC treatment was significantly associated with changes in HRQOL (beta: 0.06, 95% CI 0.04-0.09; P = 0.009). CONCLUSION: Our study highlighted a low CRC screening rate in China, largely due to limited public awareness. After treatment, HRQOL declined, and treatment awareness was significantly associated with this change.