SNUBH study finds colon cancer patients regain quality of life within 7 weeks after laparoscopic surgery

A research team led by Seoul National University Bundang Hospital (SNUBH) has published a study that scientifically tracks post-surgical recovery in colon cancer patients who underwent laparoscopic surgery.

The research, supported by SNUBH and the Korean Society of Surgical Metabolism and Nutrition, was recently published in Colorectal Disease, a peer-reviewed journal by the European Society of Coloproctology. 

According to the researchers, the study is the first in Korea to scientifically analyze long-term postoperative recovery following laparoscopic colon cancer surgery using a linguistically and culturally validated assessment tool.

While laparoscopic surgery is increasingly common in colon cancer treatment, systematic long-term evaluations of patients’ quality of life post-surgery have remained limited, especially in Korean-language contexts.

Most previous studies provided only fragmented insights and lacked consistent use of validated standardized measurement tools.

The need for a reliable, culturally adapted instrument motivated the development of a Korean version of the Gastrointestinal Quality of Life Index (GIQLI), which evaluates the quality of life across five domains: gastrointestinal symptoms (such as abdominal pain), physical function (ability to perform daily tasks), social functioning (interpersonal relationships), emotional well-being (such as anxiety), and treatment-related satisfaction.

To confirm the efficacy of GIQLI, the research team, led by Professor Oh Heung-kwon of the Department of Surgery at SNUBH and Professor Lee Tae-gyun of the Department of Surgery at Ajou University School of Medicine conducted a prospective, multicenter observational study involving 115 patients who had undergone laparoscopic surgery for colon cancer at four Korean university hospitals between 2021 and 2023.

Patients completed the GIQLI questionnaire at five-time points: before surgery and one week, three weeks, six months, and one year after the procedure.

The study found that patients experienced an expected drop in quality of life immediately after surgery. GIQLI scores decreased from an average of 106.2 pre-surgery to 92.7 one week after surgery.

However, recovery was relatively swift. In six months, the average score rose to 104.6, and by one year, it had reached 113.4, exceeding preoperative levels. The average time to meaningful recovery, defined as a return to baseline or better in terms of overall quality of life, was calculated at 6.4 weeks.

“This study provides objective data showing that most patients recover their quality of life relatively quickly after laparoscopic colon cancer surgery,” Professor Oh said. “Moreover, using the Korean-language GIQLI allowed us to capture patient-reported outcomes with greater cultural and linguistic precision.”

Oh added that the GIQLI instrument helped quantify subtle shifts in multiple dimensions of recovery, including emotional and social aspects, which are often underrepresented in surgical outcome studies.

Oh also emphasized the clinical relevance of the findings.

“The results suggest a generally positive recovery trajectory and could help shape future interventions to improve patient outcomes further,” he said. “Our next step is to explore and validate specific supportive strategies that can enhance quality of life even further after surgery.”