Background
Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is a critical aspect to consider when making treatment decisions for patients with non-Hodgkin-lymphoma (NHL). This international study by the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) tested the psychometric properties of two newly developed measures for patients with high-grade (HG)- and low-grade (LG)-NHL: the EORTC QLQ-NHL-HG29 and the EORTC QLQ-NHL-LG20 to supplement the core questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30).
Methods
Overall, 768 patients with HG-NHL (
N = 423) and LG-NHL (
N = 345) from 12 countries completed the QLQ-C30, QLQ-NHL-HG29/QLQ-NHL-LG20 and a debriefing questionnaire at baseline, and a subset at follow-up for either retest (
N = 125/124) or responsiveness to change (RCA;
N = 98/49).
Results
Confirmatory factor analysis showed an acceptable to good fit of the 29 items of the QLQ-NHL-HG29 on its five scales (symptom burden [SB], neuropathy, physical condition/fatigue [PF], emotional impact [EI], and worries about health/functioning [WH]), and of the 20 items of the QLQ-NHL-LG20 on its four scales (SB, PF, EI, and WH). Completion took on average 10 minutes. Test–retest reliability, convergent validity, known-group comparisons, and RCA find satisfactory results of both measures. A total of 31%–78% of patients with HG-NHL and 22%–73% of patients with LG-NHL reported symptoms and/or worries (e.g., tingling in hands/feet, lack of energy, and worries about recurrence). Patients reporting symptoms/worries had substantially lower HRQOL compared to those without.
Discussion
The use of the EORTC QLQ-NHL-HG29 and QLQ-NHL-LG20 questionnaires in clinical research and practice will provide clinically relevant data to better inform treatment decision-making.
Plain language summary
- The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Group developed two questionnaires.
- These questionnaires measure health-related quality of life.
- The questionnaires are for patients with high-grade or low-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
- They are called the EORTC QLQ-NHL-HG29 and QLQ-NHL-LG20.
- The questionnaires are now internationally validated.
- This study demonstrates that the questionnaires are reliably and valid, which are important aspects of a questionnaire.
- The questionnaires can now be used in clinical trials and practice.
- With the information gathered from the questionnaires, patients and clinicians can better evaluate treatments and discuss the best choice for a patient.
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