title: Measurement of health-related quality of life in men with prostate cancer: the CaPSURE database.
abstract: This paper reviews the reliability and validity of an instrument for assessing health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in CaPSURE (Cancer of the Prostate Strategic Urologic Research Endeavor), an observational database of men with biopsy-confirmed prostate cancer. The questionnaire includes the RAND 36 item Health Survey 1.0, the UCLA Prostate Cancer Index and items measuring self-esteem and the impact of prostate cancer in general and on the family. The reliability and validity of this instrument are reported for a group of 2,382 men enrolled in CaPSURE. Individuals complete HRQOL questionnaires at enrollment and quarterly thereafter. The subscales of the instrument resulted in a high internal-consistency reliability across all subscales (range = 0.75-0.94). The test-retest reliability was good with the exception of the comparative health item (intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) = 0.55). The concurrent validity data included moderately strong associations with subscales of similar concepts and the ability to distinguish between patients who are known to be different--newly diagnosed (within 6 months) and patients diagnosed and treated an average of 3 years ago. Overall, this instrument demonstrated good reliability and validity and supported the need for incorporating HRQOL as a component of outcomes assessment in the management of patients with prostate cancer.
authors.affiliation: Technology Assessment Group, San Francisco, CA 94107, USA.
authors.forename: D P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Lubeck
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Litwin
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Henning
authors.forename: P R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Carroll
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016208:Databases, Factual; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D016896:Treatment Outcome