RESUMEN

INTRODUCTION: Renal cancer (RC) is not typically symtomatic until it reaches a considerable size and an advanced stage (1). The 5-year survival rate for metastatic renal cancer (mRC) is estimated at 13% (2). Health-related quality of life (HRQoL), obtained as patient-reported outcomes (PRO), reflects the patient's subjective perception of the disease and treatment impact on their normal activity and well-being (3). Measuring HRQoL can facilitate doctor-patient communication, aid in decision-making, and improve clinical outcomes (4)(5). We will analyze the baseline quality of life of patients diagnosed with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRC), who are candidates for systemic treatment, in our setting, as measured by responses to the NCCN-FKSI 19 questionnaire. METHODS: We analyzed 78 consecutive patients diagnosed and treated for metastatic renal cancer (mRC) from September 2012 to September 2019. We described the baseline questionnaire responses of our patients before initiating systemic treatment and analyzed their responses. RESULTS: Over 60% of the patients reported some degree of lack of energy or fatigue, 60.8% were very or extremely worried about their disease worsening, and 47.9% had some issues related to rest. Additionally, 26.8% of the patients were not at all satisfied with their quality of life at that time. CONCLUSIONS: Patients diagnosed with metastatic renal cancer exhibit a deterioration in their quality of life, mostly showing asthenia and concern about their disease. The quality of life of "real-life patients" seems to be worse than that of those included in clinical trials.