Individually different "weights" of quality of life assessment in patients with advanced nonsmall-cell lung cancer.
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.
Morita
Satoshi
S
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
Ohashi
Yasuo
Y
Kobayashi
Kunihiko
K
Matsumoto
Taketoshi
T
Eguchi
Kenji
K
Shibuya
Masahiko
M
Yamaji
Yasufumi
Y
Fukuoka
Masahiro
M
Nagao
Keiichi
K
Niitani
Hisanobu
H
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