title: Individually different "weights" of quality of life assessment in patients with advanced nonsmall-cell lung cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The structure of quality of life (QOL) assessment was investigated by estimating subject-specific as well as population-averaged "weights" for four domains (functional, physical, mental, and psychosocial) relative to global QOL.
  
  
  METHODS
  Among 583 eligible patients with advanced nonsmall-cell lung cancer in two phase III trials, 377 completed QOL questionnaires at baseline, and during treatment. A random coefficients model was applied, using the global QOL score and scores for the four domains as response and explanatory variables, respectively.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A large diversity in subject-specific weights was found for the physical and psychosocial domains during treatment and for the psychosocial and functional domains after treatment. The population-averaged weights of all domains were significant during treatment (especially the physical domain), as well as after treatment (except the functional domain).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Thus, all four domains were associated with global QOL, and the associations varied among individual patients as well as among the domains.
authors.affiliation: QOL Evaluation Committee, West and East CPT-11 Lung Cancer Study Groups, and Dept. of Epidemiological/Clinical Research Information Mgmt., Kyoto Graduate School of Medicine, Yoshidakanoe-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan. smorita@pbh.med.kyoto-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Morita
authors.forename: Yasuo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ohashi
authors.forename: Kunihiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Taketoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsumoto
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Eguchi
authors.forename: Masahiko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shibuya
authors.forename: Yasufumi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamaji
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fukuoka
authors.forename: Keiichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nagao
authors.forename: Hisanobu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Niitani
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015233:Models, Statistical; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires