Background: Bronchopulmonary cancer is actually the first cancer in the world. In Tunisia, recent statistics are alarmous. The most bronchopulmonary cancer in tunisian series are diagnosis at metastatic states.
Aim: To evaluate the cost of the global treatment by chemotherapy in patients with metastatic non small lung cancer and its impact over the quality of life in Tunisia.
Methods: It's a prospective study lead between January 2006 and Juin 2007 to evaluate the quality of life for patients hading metastatic non small lung cancer treated by palliative chemotherapy in Ibn Nafiss department in Abderrahmen Mami hospital.The evaluation of the quality of life is inspired by the questionnaire of EORTC: QLQC30 version 3 translated in en Arab language, filled before chemotherapy, after the le 3rd cycle, and at the end of the first ligne. The study of the cost is effected for the 2 protocols whose the most used in first ligne : Cisplatin-Vinorelbine (P-V) and Cisplatin- Gemcitabine (P-G) RESULTS: 30 patients had benefit from palliative chemotherapy based on P-V (18 cases) or P-G (12 cases). All patients had responded for the questionnaire in the opportunity moments. After 3 cycles of chemotherapy, we note an improve of the symptomatic, physical, activity, emotional and global health scales. In opposition, we note a deterioration of cognitive and social scales without any supplementary improvement(no significant difference) if we add other cycles in the twice protocols. At the same level of the benefit in term of quality of life and survival without supplementary toxicity, the choice is made by the less cost's protocol in other words P-V.
Conclusion: Our results confirm the benefit from chemotherapy in term of survival and quality of life in our context, however, the important cost of the chemotherapy necessitate to rationalize the indications and the le choice of the treatments in this palliative indication.