title: Using Patient-reported Outcomes to Compare Relative Burden of Cancer: EQ-5D and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General in Eleven Types of Cancer.
abstract: The objective of this study was to compare the health-related quality of life (HRQL) burden across different types of advanced cancer with the use of 2 widely used patient-reported outcome measures, the generic EQ-5D and the cancer-specific Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G).
  
  
  
  Patients with advanced cancer of the bladder, brain, breast, colon/rectum, head/neck, hepatobiliary tract/pancreas, kidney, lung, lymphoma, ovary, or prostate completed the EQ-5D and FACT-G. HRQL domains and summary scores were compared across types of cancer, using regression models to adjust for age and sex.
  
  
  
  Approximately 50 patients with each type of cancer were recruited (total, 534 patients). According to EQ-5D dimensions, the highest proportion of problems was associated with prostate (mobility); prostate and kidney (self-care); head/neck, bladder, and lung (usual activities); breast, head/neck, and lung (pain/discomfort); and lymphoma and lung (anxiety/depression) cancers. EQ-5D visual analogue scale scores were lowest for breast and head/neck cancers; US index-based scores were lowest for breast and lung cancers and highest for brain cancer. For the FACT-G, physical well-being scores were lowest for head/neck, hepatobiliary, and kidney cancers; emotional well-being scores were lowest for hepatobiliary cancer, and functional well-being scores were lowest for head/neck, hepatobiliary, and bladder cancers.
  
  
  
  The overall and dimension-specific HRQL burden of advanced cancer depended on the type of cancer. Such results may aid clinicians and patients in better understanding of how cancer site can affect HRQL and functioning in different ways.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy Systems, Outcomes and Policy, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. Electronic address: pickard1@uic.edu.
authors.forename: A Simon
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Pickard
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy Systems, Outcomes and Policy, College of Pharmacy, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.
authors.forename: Ruixuan
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: College of Pharmacy, China Medical University, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hsiang-Wen
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rosenbloom
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Medicine, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cella
mesh_terms: D015331:Cohort Studies; D006801:Humans; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D000071066:Patient Reported Outcome Measures; D011788:Quality of Life; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: EQ-5D; FACT; burden of illness; cancer; health status; quality of life