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Measuring quality of life in patients with breast cancer: a systematic review of reliable and valid instruments available in japan

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Abstract

Background

Little is known about the availability and psychometric properties of instruments to measure quality of life (QOL) in clinical research on Japanese patients with breast cancer. The purpose of this systematic review is to find reliable and valid instruments available in Japan, and to summarize their characteristics.

Methods

Instruments available in Japan were found through a systematic search of the literature. Each instrument identified was evaluated for item development, reliability, validity, interpretability and utility.

Results

Six questionnaires to measure health-related QOL (the QOL-ACD, the EORTC QLQ-C30, the EORTC QLQ-BR23, the FACT-B, the SF-36, the WHO/QOL-26) and five scales to quantify the psychological burden (the STAI, the POMS, the SDS, the HADS, the GHQ), for which reliability and validity have been documented, are available in Japanese. All instruments were developed in foreign countries except for the QOL-ACD. Two of the QOL questionnaires were specific to breast cancer (the EORTC QLQ-BR23, the FACT-B). Though the measurements can be interpreted in some manner, the meaning of change scores over time has been documented for only three instruments (the EORTC QLQ-C30, the FACT-B, and the GHQ).

Conclusions

The review provides grounds for designing and implementing quantitative research on QOL of breast cancer patients in Japan. Methodological challenges, however, continue, particularly for validating instruments with regard to various study populations of Japanese people and demonstrating the clinical importance of change scores.

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Abbreviations

QOL:

Quality of life

QOL-ACD:

the QOL Questionnaire for Cancer Patients Treated with Anticancer Drugs

EORTC QLQ-C30:

the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30

EORTC QLQ-BR23:

the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Breast 23

FACT-B:

the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Breast

SF-36:

the 36-item short form of the Medical Outcomes Study questionnaire

WHO/QOL-26:

the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment questionnaire

STAI:

the State Trait Anxiety Inventory

POMS:

the Profile of Mood States

SDS:

the Self-rating Depression Scale

HADS:

the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale

GHQ:

the General Health Questionnaire

JBCS 1999:

the QOL questionnaire for breast conserving therapy proposed by the Japanese Breast Cancer Society in 1999

FLIC:

the Functional Living Index-Cancer

QLI:

the Quality of Life Index cancer version

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Endocrine Surgery, Japan

    Takahiro Okamoto

  2. Hygiene and Public Health II, Tokyo Women’s Medical University, Japan

    Takahiro Okamoto

  3. Lnstitute for Scientific Research of Stress, Public Health Research Foundation, Japan

    Kojiro Shimozuma

  4. School of Health Sciences and Nursing, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Japan

    Kojiro Shimozuma

  5. Department of Medical Oncology, National Cancer Center Hospital, Japan

    Noriyuki Katsumata

  6. Cinza Prima Clinic, Japan

    Michiko Koike

  7. Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Tokushima Graduate School of Medicine, Japan

    Akinori Hisashige

  8. Department of Surgery, Breast and Thyroid Division, Kawasaki Medical School, Japan

    Katsuhiro Tanaka

  9. Department of Surgery, National Shikoku Cancer Center, Japan

    Shozo Ohsumi

  10. Department of Breast Surgery, National Cancer Center Research Institute, Japan

    Mitsue Saito

  11. Department of Radiology, Shinshu University School of Medicine, Japan

    Naoto Shikama

  12. Department of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan

    Michihide Mitsumori & Chikako Yamauchi

  13. Department of Surgery II, Fukushima Medical University School of Medicine, Japan

    Takanori Watanabe

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  1. Takahiro Okamoto
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Reprint requests to Takahiro Okamoto, Department of Endocrine Surgery, Tokyo Women’s Medical University, 8-1 Kawada-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8666, Japan.

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Okamoto, T., Shimozuma, K., Katsumata, N. et al. Measuring quality of life in patients with breast cancer: a systematic review of reliable and valid instruments available in japan. Breast Cancer 10, 204–213 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02966719

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