title: Psychometric validation of the functional assessment of cancer therapy--brain (FACT-Br) for assessing quality of life in patients with brain metastases.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aimed to test the reliability, psychometric, and clinical validity of the use of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy--Brain (FACT-Br) in patients with brain metastases.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients with brain metastases were interviewed using the FACT-Br (including the FACT-general) 1 week prior to treatment. All patients completed a follow-up assessment 1 month post-treatment. Patients with a good performance status and receiving stereotactic radiosurgery completed an additional 1 week follow-up assessment after the initial baseline interview to assess test-retest reliability.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Forty patients had complete 1 month follow-up data. Ten of these patients also completed the 1 week follow-up assessment from baseline. The median Karnofsky performance status of patients was 80 and the median age was 64 years. All subscales of the FACT-Br were found to be conceptually related (except for two correlations) using the following subscales: physical well-being (PWB), social/family well-being (SWB), emotional well-being (EWB), functional well-being (FWB), FACT-G total score, brain cancer subscale (BrC), and the FACT-Br total score. All FACT-Br scores demonstrated excellent reliability, except for the SWB scale which revealed good reliability. The FACT-Br scores showed no significant change in the quality of life (QoL) of patients from baseline to 1 month follow-up.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The use of the combined FACT-G and FACT-Br Subscale to assess QoL specifically in patients with brain metastases has successfully undergone psychometric validation. Future clinical trials should use the FACT-G and FACT-Br Subscale to assess QoL in this patient population.
authors.affiliation: Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Nemica
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Thavarajah
authors.forename: Gillian
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bedard
authors.forename: Liying
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cella
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Beaumont
authors.forename: May
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tsao
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Barnes
authors.forename: Cyril
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Danjoux
authors.forename: Arjun
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sahgal
authors.forename: Hany
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Soliman
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Chow
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life