title: Psychometric Properties of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Neutropenia in Asian Cancer Patients With Chemotherapy-Induced Neutropenia.
abstract: The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Neutropenia (FACT-N) is a neutropenia-specific questionnaire to assess patients' health-related quality of life.
  
  
  
  This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of FACT-N among cancer patients with chemotherapy-induced neutropenia (CIN).
  
  
  
  This prospective, cross-sectional study included multiethnic Asian cancer patients. Patients completed the questionnaires within seven days after diagnosed with CIN. Eligible patients completed either the English or Chinese version of the EuroQol 5-Dimensions (EQ-5D) and the FACT-N once, according to their language preference. The reliability was evaluated by using Cronbach alpha (α). The known-group validity was assessed based on patient's Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, neutropenia grade, and experience of fever. The convergent validity was evaluated by contrasting the FACT-N subscales with the EQ-5D domains. Multiple linear regression models were performed to compare the FACT-N total scores between the two language versions.
  
  
  
  A total of 276 eligible patients (200 English speaking and 76 Chinese speaking) were included in this study. Internal consistencies within the FACT-N subscales were satisfactory (Cronbach α = 0.71-0.85), except for the flu-like symptoms subscale (Cronbach α = 0.67). For known-group validity, the FACT-N total score could differentiate patients according to their Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (P < 0.001), neutropenia grade (P = 0.028), and experience of fever (P < 0.001). The correlations between the FACT-N subscales and their hypothesized constructs in EQ-5D domains were weak to moderate (|r| = 0.15-0.44). The measurement equivalence between the English and Chinese versions was established for the FACT-N total scores.
  
  
  
  The FACT-N is a valid and reliable instrument to be used in clinical practice to evaluate the health-related quality of life among multiethnic Asian patients with CIN.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore; Department of Pharmacy, National Cancer Centre Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Xiao Jun
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
authors.forename: Ching Man
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore; Department of Pharmacy, National Cancer Centre Singapore, Singapore, Singapore. Electronic address: phaac@nus.edu.sg.
authors.forename: Alexandre
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chan
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D009503:Neutropenia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012846:Singapore; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents
keywords: Asian patients; FACT-N; chemotherapy-induced neutropenia; measurement equivalence; psychometric properties; quality of life