The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality-of-Life questionnaire cervical cancer module: EORTC QLQ-CX24.
BACKGROUND
The authors report on the development and validation of a cervical cancer module for the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality-of-Life (QoL) questionnaire (QLQ), which was designed to assess disease-specific and treatment-specific aspects of QoL in patients with cervical cancer.


METHODS
The cervical cancer module (EORTC QLQ-CX24) was developed in a multicultural, multidisciplinary setting to supplement the EORTC QLQ-C30 core questionnaire. The QLQ-C30 and the cervical cancer module were administered to 346 patients with cervical cancer who underwent radical hysterectomy and received radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Psychometric analyses were performed by using data from 2 independent samples.


RESULTS
The QLQ-CX24 consists of 3 multiitem scales and 5 single-item scales. Multitrait scaling analyses revealed high internal consistencies for the subscales with Cronbach alpha coefficients ranging from .72 to .87 (Symptom Experience, .72; Body Image, .86; Sexual/Vaginal Functioning, .87). Convergent and discriminant validity were fulfilled with scaling errors below 3%. The QLQ-CX24 was capable of discriminating between clinical subgroups. All items exhibited good compliance with <3% missing values. Most patients completed the EORTC QLQ-C30 and the QLQ-CX24 in <15 minutes (86%), and many did not require any assistance to complete the questionnaires (65%).


CONCLUSIONS
The current psychometric analyses supported the content and construct validity and the reliability of the EORTC QLQ-CX24 module. This newly developed module is a useful instrument for assessing the QoL of patients who are treated for cervical cancer both in clinical trials and in clinical practice.
Greimel
Elfriede R
ER
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria. elfriede.greimel@meduni-graz.at
Kuljanic Vlasic
Karin
K
Waldenstrom
Ann-Charlotte
AC
Duric
Vlatka M
VM
Jensen
Pernille T
PT
Singer
Susanne
S
Chie
Weichu
W
Nordin
Andy
A
Bjelic Radisic
Vesna
V
Wydra
Dariusz
D
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017567:Karnofsky Performance Status; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D002583:Uterine Cervical Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*