Table 4.
Clinically relevant change in functional scales between two subsequent data collection cycles
| EORTC QLQ-C30 scalesa | 0–1.5 months | 1.5–3 months | 3–4.5 months | 4.5–6 months | 6–12 months |
| Global health status/QoL | |||||
| Decline, n (%) | 39 (39.4) | 23 (23.7) | 21 (22.6) | 18 (20.0) | 17 (21.5) |
| No change, n (%) | 38 (38.4) | 43 (44.3) | 55 (81.7) | 49 (54.4) | 42 (53.2) |
| Improvement, n (%) | 22 (22.2) | 31 (32.0) | 17 (18.3) | 23 (25.6) | 20 (25.3) |
| Emotional function | |||||
| Decline, n (%) | 19 (19.2) | 17 (17.5) | 20 (21.5) | 7 (7.8) | 11 (13.9) |
| No change, n (%) | 58 (58.6) | 62 (63.9) | 59 (63.4) | 68 (75.6) | 55 (69.9) |
| Improvement, n (%) | 22 (22.2) | 18 (18.6) | 14 (15.1) | 15 (16.7) | 13 (16.5) |
| Physical function | |||||
| Decline, n (%) | 25 (25.8) | 12 (12.5) | 13 (14.0) | 9 (10.0) | 12 (15.2) |
| No change, n (%) | 61 (62.9) | 68 (70.8) | 72 (77.4) | 70 (77.8) | 59 (74.7) |
| Improvement, n (%) | 11 (11.3) | 16 (16.7) | 8 (8.6) | 11 (12.2) | 8 (10.1) |
| Role function | |||||
| Decline, n (%) | 40 (41.7) | 16 (16.7) | 29 (31.2) | 20 (22.2) | 16 (20.3) |
| No change, n (%) | 41 (42.7) | 40 (41.7) | 48 (51.6) | 42 (46.7) | 47 (59.5) |
| Improvement, n (%) | 15 (15.6) | 40 (41.7) | 16 (17.2) | 28 (31.1) | 16 (20.3) |
| Cognitive function | |||||
| Decline, n (%) | 29 (29.3) | 20 (20.8) | 16 (17.4) | 23 (25.6) | 16 (20.5) |
| No change, n (%) | 49 (49.5) | 52 (54.8) | 51 (55.4) | 53 (58.9) | 43 (55.1) |
| Improvement, n (%) | 21 (21.2) | 24 (25.0) | 25 (27.2) | 14 (15.6) | 19 (24.4) |
| Social function | |||||
| Decline, n (%) | 38 (40.0) | 17 (18.1) | 26 (28.0) | 12 (13.3) | 14 (17.2) |
| No change, n (%) | 41 (43.2) | 42 (44.7) | 52 (55.9) | 53 (58.9) | 48 (60.8) |
| Improvement, n (%) | 16 (16.8) | 35 (37.2) | 15 (16.1) | 25 (27.8) | 17 (21.5) |
Clinically relevant decline or improvement is change >10 points compared with previous interview. EORTC QLQ-C30, European Organization for the Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Core Questionnaire with 30 items; QoL, quality of life.
a
Due to missing items, for some participants we were unable to calculate the scale score; therefore, the number of participants with no change/improvement or decline may vary for the different functional and symptom scales.