[Measurement of health-related quality of life in malignant diseases. Does it have any consequences?].
The traditional end points of clinical trials in malignant disease are response, disease-free survival, and overall survival. Because a substantial part of cancer treatment is palliative, health-related quality of life should be a major objective in clinical trials. Cancer specific questionnaires, which measure the various quality of life domains and which are tested for reliability, validity and sensitivity to changes in clinical status, are now available. Measurement of health-related quality of life may lead to important conclusions. For instance, results from a Nordic myeloma trial suggest that obtaining an objective response is not a prerequisite for achieving an improved quality of life. They also indicate that the 5 to 6 month plateau phase prolongation obtained by giving interferon alpha-2b in addition to melphalan/prednisone is not associated with any quality of life benefit. Data from the same trial are used to illustrate how quality of life data can be utilized in cost-utility analysis: the cost per quality adjusted life year (QALY) gained by adding interferon was estimated at USD 110,000.
Wisløff
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F
Hematologisk avdeling, Ullevål sykehus, Oslo.
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality / Q000523:psychology*; D011379:Prognosis; D011788:Quality of Life; D019057:Quality-Adjusted Life Years
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents