Table 6.
Health-related quality of life instruments often used in HNC studies.
| Instrument | Global QoL measure | No. of items contributing to global score | Domains | Validation cohort | Target population |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Generic | |||||
| EuroQoL 5-Dimension (EQ-5D) (40) | Yes | 1 (VAS) | Mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, anxiety/depression | General population | ≥12 years |
| SF-12 Health Survey (SF-12) (41) | No | – | Physical functioning, role physical, bodily pain, general health, vitality, social functioning, role emotional, mental health a | General population | ≥18 years |
| SF-36 Health Survey (SF-36) (42) | No | – | Physical functioning, role physical, bodily pain, general health, vitality, social functioning, role emotional, mental health a | General population | ≥18 years |
| Cancer-Specific | |||||
| EORTC QLQ-C30 (43) | Yes | 2 | Physical, role, emotional, cognitive, social functioning; fatigue, pain, nausea and vomiting, dyspnea, insomnia, appetite loss, constipation, diarrhoea; financial impact | Version 1: 36-91 years (mean 63 years) (43); Version 3: 22-91 years (mean 63 years) (44) |
≥30 years |
| FACT-G (45) | Yes | 27 | Physical, social, emotional, functional wellbeing | Item generation 27-86 years | ≥18 years |
| Head and Neck Cancer-Specific | |||||
| Auckland Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ) (46) | Yes | 1 | Social, family and physical functioning | Range not reported (mean 62 years) | Not specified |
| EORTC QLQ-H&N35/43 (47, 48) | No | – | H&N35: pain, swallowing, senses, speech, social eating, social contact, sexuality; and teeth, mouth opening, dry mouth, sticky saliva, coughing, felt ill, pain killers, nutritional supplements, feeding tube, weight loss, weight gain H&N43: pain in the mouth, swallowing, teeth, dry mouth and sticky saliva, senses, speech, body image, social eating, sexuality, problems with shoulder, skin problems, fear of progression; and opening mouth, coughing, social contact, swelling in the neck, weight loss, wound healing, neurological problems |
H&N35 phase 3: 32-89 years | 18-88 years |
| FACT-HN (49) | Yes | 37 | FACT-G domains plus HNC-specific issues | 17-82 years (mean 58 years) | ≥17 years |
| Head and Neck Quality of Life Instrument (HNQOL) (50) | Yes | 20 | Communication, discomfort, eating, and emotion | Age range not reported (77.4% > 50 years) |
≥18 years |
| Head and Neck Cancer Inventory (HNCI) (51) | Yes | 1 | Speech, eating, social disruption and aesthetics | <55-≥75 years (mean 61.3 years); 15% ≥75 years | Not specified |
| UW-QoL v4 (52) | Yes | 1 | Physical and social-emotional function; 12 single item symptom scores: pain, appearance, activity recreation, swallowing, chewing, speech, shoulder, taste, saliva, mood, anxiety | Version 1: 23-83 years (mean 55 years); 5/75 (6.5%) ≥70 years | ≥18 years |
EORTC QLQ-C30, European Organisation for the Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30; FACT-G, Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General; FACT-HN, Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Head & Neck module; HRQL, health-related quality of life; UW-QoL,- University of Washington Quality of Life Questionnaire; VAS, visual analogue scale.
a
Domain scores are used to calculate a Physical Component Summary score and a Mental Component Summary score.