Alsharif FH. Quality of life among Saudi cancer survivors: The role of social and demographic factors. World J Clin Oncol 2025; 16(11): 111397 [DOI: 10.5306/wjco.v16.i11.111397]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Fatmah H Alsharif, PhD, Associate Faculty, Associate Professor, Department of Medical Surgical Nursing, King Abdulaziz University, F6VP + 29J building 8, Jeddah 22252, Makkah al Mukarramah, Saudi Arabia. falsharif@kau.edu.sa
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Oncology
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Observational Study
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This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Nov 24, 2025 (publication date) through Nov 21, 2025
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Publication Name
World Journal of Clinical Oncology
ISSN
2218-4333
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Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA
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Alsharif FH. Quality of life among Saudi cancer survivors: The role of social and demographic factors. World J Clin Oncol 2025; 16(11): 111397 [DOI: 10.5306/wjco.v16.i11.111397]
World J Clin Oncol. Nov 24, 2025; 16(11): 111397 Published online Nov 24, 2025. doi: 10.5306/wjco.v16.i11.111397
Quality of life among Saudi cancer survivors: The role of social and demographic factors
Fatmah H Alsharif
Fatmah H Alsharif, Department of Medical Surgical Nursing, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 22252, Makkah al Mukarramah, Saudi Arabia
Author contributions: Alsharif FH conceptualized the topic, collected data and drafted the manuscript, performed the data statistical analysis, finalized manuscript preparation for the work, and review and submit the final version.
Supported by KAU Endowment (WAQF) at King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by Institutional Review Board of Faculty of Nursing.
Informed consent statement: Informed consent was obtained from all the participants prior to the enrollment of this study.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict interests.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement—checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement—checklist of items.
Data sharing statement: The data that support the findings of this study are available upon request from the author. No restrictions apply to the availability of these data.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Fatmah H Alsharif, PhD, Associate Faculty, Associate Professor, Department of Medical Surgical Nursing, King Abdulaziz University, F6VP + 29J building 8, Jeddah 22252, Makkah al Mukarramah, Saudi Arabia. falsharif@kau.edu.sa
Received: July 2, 2025 Revised: July 23, 2025 Accepted: October 9, 2025 Published online: November 24, 2025 Processing time: 142 Days and 21.8 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Cancer survivorship is a growing concern globally, yet few studies have explored the quality of life (QoL) outcomes among survivors in the Middle East, particularly in Saudi Arabia.
AIM
To assess QoL using the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) and to evaluate the impact of demographic and clinical factors among Saudi cancer survivors.
METHODS
We conducted a cross-sectional study of 102 adult cancer survivors recruited from a tertiary hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Participants completed the WHOQOL-BREF, which assesses four QoL domains, including physical health, psychological health, social relationships, and environment. Univariate and multivariable robust linear regression models (Huber estimator) were used to identify QoL score predictors, adjusted for key sociodemographic and clinical variables.
RESULTS
The mean participant age was 44.5 years; 72.5% of the participants were female. The mean domain scores were as follows: physical health was 3.05 ± 0.53, psychological health was 3.56 ± 0.79, social relationships was 3.39 ± 0.84, and environment was 3.29 ± 0.74. Socioeconomic and social vulnerability factors, including low income, rental housing, widowed/divorced marital status, and lower education, were independently associated with poorer QoL scores. Residents in rural settings had significantly lower scores in all domains.
CONCLUSION
Our findings reveal noticeable disparities in QoL among Saudi cancer survivors driven by socioeconomic and demographic factors. These insights underscore the need for context-sensitive survivorship programs in Saudi Arabia, with special attention to social support, mental health, and economic stability.
Core Tip: This study highlights significant disparities in quality of life (QoL) among cancer survivors in Saudi Arabia using the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF instrument. It identifies key socioeconomic and demographic predictors—such as rural residence, low income, and limited education—that negatively influence domain-specific QoL. These findings underscore the urgent need for culturally and contextually tailored survivorship programs that address social vulnerability, mental health, and environmental support in Middle Eastern settings.
