Prospective evaluation of the reliability, validity, and minimally important difference of the functional assessment of cancer therapy-gastric (FACT-Ga) quality-of-life instrument.
BACKGROUND
Recently, the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Gastric (FACT-Ga) was developed to measure the quality of life (QoL) of patients with gastric cancer. This newly developed instrument has not yet been validated.


METHODS
Eighty-two patients with gastric adenocarcinoma completed questionnaires at baseline. The FACT-Ga scores were measured as a function of disease stage and performance status, and they were correlated with the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36), the Beck Depression Inventory-II, the Marlow-Crowne Social Desirability Scale, the Paulhus Deception Scale, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Patients received a second questionnaire 2 weeks after baseline to evaluate test-retest reliability and again at 3 months to evaluate the sensitivity of the FACT-Ga to changes in performance status and to estimate the minimally important differences in scores that represented meaningful change.


RESULTS
The internal and test-retest reliability of the FACT-Ga instrument was adequate. With the exception of the social well being subscale, all FACT-Ga scores were correlated as hypothesized with other measures. Relevant components of the FACT-Ga were sensitive to changes in performance status.


CONCLUSIONS
The current results indicated that the FACT-Ga provides a valid and reliable measurement of QoL in patients with gastric adenocarcinoma. It is a useful instrument for QoL assessment in clinical trials, and it also may be useful for the detection of significant changes in the QoL of individual patients.
Garland
Sheila N
SN
Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Pelletier
Guy
G
Lawe
Andrew
A
Biagioni
Bradly J
BJ
Easaw
Jay
J
Eliasziw
Michael
M
Cella
David
D
Bathe
Oliver F
OF
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000379:methods; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult