Gender differences in health-related quality of life among patients with colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer and the fourth leading cause of death related to cancer in the world (1,2). There is a geographical variation in the distribution of CRC worldwide; over two-thirds of incident cases of CRC and 60% of colorectal- related deaths occur in developed countries with western diet culture (1). Currently, the incidence of CRC has been increasing in many developing countries. Reports also indicated an increase in the incidence of CRC in Iran (3-6). Given, the widespread use of advanced screening techniques for the detection of CRC, the trend of cases diagnosed in the early stages, and therefore, the survival rate among CRC patients have increased (7-10). With the rapid advances in medical practices, the goal of health care providers is not only to increase survival time but also to improve the quality of life (QOL) of patients (11). CRC, as well as the consequence of its treatment, can be associated with adverse effects that may compromise the QOL of CRC survivors (12)