Quality of life assessment.
Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) has become one of the important endpoints in cancer treatments. However, a relatively small proportion of oncologists truly understand the concepts and uses of QOL assessments. In this article, I discuss psychometric properties that should be verified with QOL instruments, scope of the QOL concepts that should be assessed in oncology, how to choose the appropriate measures, and cross-cultural validation and statistical issues. Several examples of QOL assessments in recent clinical trials in oncology are also reviewed.
Shimozuma
Kojiro
K
Institute for Scientific Research of Stress, PHRF, Nishiyama Kogyo Ochanomizu Building 5F, 1-2-13, Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0034, Japan. shimozuma@jmari.med.or.jp
D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D017024:Chemotherapy, Adjuvant; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008408:Mastectomy / Q000379:methods; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D011379:Prognosis; D011788:Quality of Life; D018714:Radiotherapy, Adjuvant; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome