ABSTRACT
Until the mid-1980s, the influence on tumour size and the patient’s quantity of life (QoL) were the paramount measures for determining the value of various therapeutic interventions in cancer. Today, there exists a greater understanding within the health services that an assessment of therapeutic effects may not always be complete unless it also includes the patient’s own experience. The qualitative aspects of survival have become particularly important in advanced colorectal cancer, where the effects of any therapy are limited and survival prospects generally poor. The qualitative aspects of life may also be of relevance in the early stages of the disease, since treatments that are more intensive are becoming increasingly available even if the additional curative potential of each of these interventions is limited.
