Development of the short version of the Gynecologic Cancer Lymphedema Questionnaire: GCLQ-7.
OBJECTIVE
The Gynecologic Cancer Lymphedema Questionnaire (GCLQ) was designed to identify gynecologic cancer patients with lower limb lymphedema (LLL). The questionnaire consists of 20 items distributed over 7 symptom clusters. The present study aimed to develop an abridged form of the GCLQ for simpler screening and more effective follow-up of LLL.


METHODS
Data that had been collected for the development and validation of the Korean version of the GCLQ (GCLQ-K) were used in this study. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves were drawn according to the individual items of the GCLQ-K. Based on discrimination ability, the candidate items were selected in each symptom cluster. After combining the items, the best model was identified and named GCLQ-7. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) was compared between the GCLQ-7 and the original GCLQ-K.


RESULTS
In total, 11 candidate items were selected from the original GCLQ-K. Among the models made with the candidate items, GCLQ-7, the best model, was constructed with 7 items as follows: 1) limited knee movement, 2) general swelling, 3) redness, 4) firmness/tightness, 5) groin swelling, 6) heaviness, and 7) aching. This model exhibited an AUC of 0.945 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.900-0.991), which is comparable with that of the original GCLQ-K (AUC, 0.867; 95% CI, 0.779-0.956). The best cutoff value was 2 points, at which the sensitivity and specificity were 97.0% and 76.5%, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
The newly developed short version model, GCLQ-7, showed acceptable discrimination ability as compared with the original GCLQ-K.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Se Ik
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9790-6735
SI
Kim
Center for Uterine Cancer, Research Institute and Hospital, National Cancer Center, Goyang, Korea.|Department of Statistics, Dongguk University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Namjoo
N
Kim
Center for Uterine Cancer, Research Institute and Hospital, National Cancer Center, Goyang, Korea.|Bio Medical Laboratory Science, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju, Korea.
Seonjoo
S
Lee
Center for Uterine Cancer, Research Institute and Hospital, National Cancer Center, Goyang, Korea.
Sujung
S
Lee
Biometric Research Branch, Research Institute and Hospital, National Cancer Center, Goyang, Korea.
Jungnam
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6961-8122
J
Joo
Center for Uterine Cancer, Research Institute and Hospital, National Cancer Center, Goyang, Korea.
Sang Soo
SS
Seo
Rehabilitation Clinic, Research Institute and Hospital, National Cancer Center, Goyang, Korea.
Seung Hyun
SH
Chung
Center for Uterine Cancer, Research Institute and Hospital, National Cancer Center, Goyang, Korea.|Gynecologic Cancer Branch, Research Institute and Hospital, National Cancer Center, Goyang, Korea.
Sang Yoon
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8325-6009
SY
Park
Center for Uterine Cancer, Research Institute and Hospital, National Cancer Center, Goyang, Korea.|Gynecologic Cancer Branch, Research Institute and Hospital, National Cancer Center, Goyang, Korea. gynlim@gmail.com.
Myong Cheol
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8964-7158
MC
Lim
D005260:Female; D005833:Genital Neoplasms, Female / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D035002:Lower Extremity; D008209:Lymphedema / Q000209:etiology*; D011788:Quality of Life; D012372:ROC Curve; D056910:Republic of Korea; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014175:Translating
Endometrial Neoplasms; Genital Neoplasms, Female; Lymphedema; Ovarian Neoplasms; Surveys and Questionnaires; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms