Patient-Reported Outcomes in Long-Term Survivors of Colon and Rectal Cancers

RATIONALE: Learning about quality of life, symptoms, and health behaviors in colorectal cancer survivors may help to determine the long-term effects of colon and rectal cancer treatments and may help to improve the quality of life for future cancer survivors. PURPOSE: This clinical trial is looking at patient-reported outcomes in long-term survivors of colon and rectal cancers.

OBJECTIVES: * Characterize 3 separate types of patient-reported outcomes (quality of life \[e.g., generic and disease-specific\], functional outcomes \[e.g., bowel and sexual function and activities of daily living\], and clinical symptoms \[e.g., pain, fatigue\]) in long-term (5+ years) survivors of colon and rectal cancers in a large national sample recruited from five National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) treatment trials. * Explore the degree to which patient-reported outcomes are impacted by individual characteristics (e.g., specific predisposing factors, enabling resources, and need), by health behaviors (e.g., use of services for cancer-related and non-cancer-related issues), and, when appropriate, by the specific treatments that were received. * Examine patient-reported outcomes prior to randomization and treatment, 1 year after treatment, and in long-term follow up \> 5 years after diagnosis in patients with colon cancer treated with adjuvant chemotherapy on protocols NSABP C-06 or NSABP C-07. OUTLINE: This is a cohort, single-group, multicenter study. Patients complete a one-time, computer-assisted telephone interview assessing their overall quality of life (QOL), disease-specific QOL, function and symptoms (including pain and fatigue), use of healthcare services, prevalence and severity of comorbidity, and demographics. PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 1,167 patients will be accrued for this study.