Reference data of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ-CIPN20 Questionnaire in the general Dutch population.
Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a debilitating side-effect of chemotherapy. However, CIPN symptoms are also reported by patients not receiving chemotherapy. Normative data could help interpret CIPN among cancer patients. Our aim was to generate normative data for the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ-CIPN20 Questionnaire designed to assess CIPN from the patients' perspective. The normative CIPN data have also been generated for stratified subgroups formed on the basis of sex, age and comorbidity.



The QLQ-CIPN20 and the Self-administered Comorbidity Questionnaire were administered to a representative panel of the Dutch-speaking population in the Netherlands.



Two thousand one hundred and two (78%) of those invited completed the questionnaires. The majority reported no CIPN symptoms (83-97%). Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the sum score, and sensory, motor and autonomic subscales were 0.87, 0.76, 0.82 and 0.49, respectively. Compared with men, women scored significantly worse on the sum score (men, 3.0 versus women, 4.3; p < 0.001), motor scale (2.7 versus 5.1; p < 0.001) and autonomic scale (3.8 versus 5.2; p < 0.01), but this difference was not clinically relevant. CIPN symptoms increased significantly with age among both men (for the sum score and all scales) and women (for the sum score, sensory and motor scale). Those with self-reported comorbidities reported significantly more CIPN symptoms, both statistically and clinically, than those without. For instance, they had a lower mean sum score (1.5) compared to those with asthma/chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD; 6.9), diabetes (5.9), heart disease (8.0), hypertension (6.2), osteoarthritis (9.6) and rheumatoid arthritis (13.8).



A low prevalence of neuropathy was observed in the normative population without cancer, although neuropathy did increase with age and the presence of comorbidities. These data (which is freely available) can aid in the interpretation of QLQ-CIPN20 scores and can help increase our understanding of the influence of age, sex and comorbid conditions on CIPN among cancer patients.
Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands; Department of Research, Netherlands Comprehensive Cancer Organisation (IKNL), Utrecht, The Netherlands. Electronic address: F.Mols@tilburguniversity.edu.
Floortje
F
Mols
Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands; Department of Research, Netherlands Comprehensive Cancer Organisation (IKNL), Utrecht, The Netherlands; Department of Psychosocial Research, Division of Psychosocial Research and Epidemiology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, The Netherlands.
Lonneke V
LV
van de Poll-Franse
Department of Internal Medicine, Máxima Medical Centre, Eindhoven and Veldhoven, The Netherlands; Department of Medical Oncology, GROW - School for Oncology and Developmental Biology, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Gerard
G
Vreugdenhil
Department of Internal Medicine, Máxima Medical Centre, Eindhoven and Veldhoven, The Netherlands.
Antoinetta J
AJ
Beijers
Department of Psychosocial Research, Division of Psychosocial Research and Epidemiology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, The Netherlands.
Jacobien M
JM
Kieffer
Department of Psychosocial Research, Division of Psychosocial Research and Epidemiology, The Netherlands Cancer Institute, The Netherlands; Department of Clinical Psychology, The University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Neil K
NK
Aaronson
Department of Medical Psychology, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Olga
O
Husson
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000009:adverse effects; D001342:Autonomic Nervous System Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006987:Hypesthesia / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy; D009426:Netherlands; D009437:Neuralgia / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000175:diagnosis*; D010523:Peripheral Nervous System Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012016:Reference Values; D057566:Self Report; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents
Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy; EORTC QLQ-CIPN20; Normative data