A Cross-sectional Study on the Symptom Burden of Patients With Spinal Tumor: Validation of the Chinese Version of the M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory-Spine Tumor Module.

Tumors involving the spine are associated with unique symptoms affecting both patient survival and health-related quality of life. Currently, there is no disease-specific instrument in Chinese to assess the symptom burden of these patients. The objective of this study was to translate and validate a Chinese version of the M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory-Spine Tumor Module (MDASI-SP-C) to assess the symptom burden of Chinese-speaking patients with spinal tumors. MDASI-SP-C was forward-and-backward translated according to standard protocols and administered to patients fulfilling study criteria at a major referral center of spine tumor between November 2014 and September 2015. The generic instruments of Short Form 36 Quality of Life Questionnaire (SF-36), Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General Version (FACT-G), and Karnofsky Performance Scale were used along with MDASI-SP-C. Prevalence and severity distribution of each item were analyzed. Psychometric assessment and hierarchical cluster analysis were performed for the translated instrument. One hundred forty-two patients were enrolled. High interdependency and relatively low intra-cluster distances were identified. Cronbach's alpha of the entire instrument, the symptom severity subscale, and the interference subscale was 0.93, 0.91, and 0.92, respectively. Principal axis factoring resulted in a four-factor solution, which was reduced to a three-factor (general symptoms, spine-specific symptoms, and gastrointestinal symptoms) solution on account of clinical interpretation. Correlation coefficients between MDASI-SP-C items and their corresponding domains in SF-36 and/or FACT-G were all greater than 0.3. MDASI-SP-C was able to distinguish patients with different Karnofsky Performance Scale levels. MDASI-SP-C demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties and could be used to better assess the symptom burden of Chinese-speaking patients with spine tumors for improved management of their medical needs.

Xu N ，Li Z ，Wei F ，Liu X ，Jiang L ，Meng N ，Jiang P ，Yu M ，Wu F ，Dang L ，Zhou H ，Li Y ，Liu Z ... -  《-》

Reliability and validity of the M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory-Spine Tumor Module.

Armstrong TS ，Gning I ，Mendoza TR ，Vera-Bolanos E ，Gilbert MR ，Rhines LD ，Weinberg JS ，Sanchez-Williams G ，Levin V ，Burton AW ，Cleeland C ... -  《-》

Validation and Application of the Chinese Version of the M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory Gastrointestinal Cancer Module (MDASI-GI-C).

To validate and use the Chinese Version of the M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory Gastrointestinal Cancer Module (MDASI-GI-C) to assess the symptom burden of Chinese-speaking patients with gastrointestinal cancer. In total, 527 patients with postoperative or advanced digestive tract tumors were enrolled in the trial, who had definitive diagnoses and different treatments in our cancer center. MDASI-GI-C was administered to these patients between February and December 2017. The item-scale correlations and internal consistency were evaluated. Construct validity was established by factor analysis. Hierarchical cluster analysis was performed. Cronbach's alpha of the symptom severity and interference subscales was 0.842 and 0.859, respectively. Construct validity revealed a four-factor structure. Known-group validity was established by comparing the MDASI-GI-C scores between patients having different Karnofsky Performance Status scores (≤70 or >70), which were observed to have significant differences. The overall mean subscale scores for the core and interference subscales were 1.63 ± 2.02 and 2.17 ± 2.34, respectively. Fatigue, disturbed sleep, and lack of appetite had the highest scores for most serious symptoms. No significant differences in age, working status, and educational level were found. MDASI-GI-C is a reliable and valid tool for assessing cancer-related symptoms in Chinese-speaking patients with digestive tract tumors, facilitates the understanding of the common symptoms of patients with digestive tract tumors, and enables timely management of these symptoms. Cognitive debriefing demonstrated that the patients found MDASI-GI-C to be an easy-to-use and understandable instrument.

Chen RW ，Yang SL ，Xu ZY ，Peng M ，Chen MN ，Wang QS ，Chang J ，Hu JL ... -  《-》

Psychometric Validation of the M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory-Head and Neck Module in the Spanish Language.

The assessment of cancer-related symptoms requires culturally adapted and psychometrically validated symptom assessment tools. The M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory-Head and Neck Module (MDASI-HN) is a useful instrument for measuring symptom burden that was specifically developed for head and neck cancer patients. To validate the Spanish version of the MDASI-HN. We evaluated the psychometric features of the MDASI-HN in patients with head and neck cancer. We evaluated the item-scale correlations and the internal consistency. We conducted principal axis factoring to identify the underlying dimensions as a measure of construct validity. The convergence/concurrent validity was assessed with the University of Washington Quality of Life Questionnaire for Head and Neck Patients, and known-group validity and test-retest reliability also were assessed. One hundred thirty patients were included. The mean ± SD age was 60.5 ± 13.6 years; 68% of patients were male, 42% had laryngeal tumors, and 45.9% had Stage III tumors. Forty-seven percent of the patients underwent surgery, 55% underwent radiotherapy, and 36% underwent chemotherapy. The global Cronbach alpha for the HN module was 0.81. The factor analysis identified two factors (Factor 1: speech, mucus, coughing, and constipation; Factor 2: teeth, taste, sores, swallowing, and skin). The correlation with the global score of the University of Washington Quality of Life was -0.68. The difference in the MDASI-HN scores according to Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status was statistically significant (2.72 vs. 4.01, P = 0.006). The intraclass test-retest correlation was 0.62. The Spanish version of the MDASI-HN is reliable and valid for evaluating cancer-related symptoms in head and neck cancer patients.

Sánchez D ，Chala A ，Alvarez A ，Payan C ，Mendoza T ，Cleeland C ，Sanabria A ... -  《-》

Symptom burden of cancer patients: validation of the German M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory: a cross-sectional multicenter study.

Cancer patients frequently suffer from various symptoms often impairing functional status and quality of life. To enable timely supportive care, these symptoms must be assessed adequately with reliable tools. This study aimed to validate the German version of the M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI). This was a multicenter, cross-sectional, observational study. At five German university hospitals, 697 cancer patients aged from 18 to 80 years undergoing active anticancer treatment were recruited to participate in the study. For the validation, reliability (Cronbach's alpha), construct validity (factor analysis), known group validity (Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status), and convergent divergent analyses were calculated. Of the 980 patients who were eligible, 697 patients were included and agreed to participate in the study (71%). Reliability analysis showed good internal consistencies for the MDASI set of symptoms (Cronbach's alpha coefficient = 0.82; 95% CI = 0.78, 0.84) and for the set of interference items (Cronbach's alpha coefficient = 0.857; 95% CI = 0.484, 0.87). Factor analysis resulted in a one-factor solution (general symptoms; eigenvalue = 4.26) with a psychological (distress and sadness) and a gastrointestinal subscale (nausea and vomiting). Convergent and divergent analyses showed significant correlations between symptom burden and distress and global health-related quality of life (subscale of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-C30 Version 3.0.). The MDASI-German version is a valid tool for measuring patient-reported symptom severity and symptom interference in German cancer patients. It is easily applicable and can be used by German clinicians and researchers for screening and monitoring purposes and the comparison of international data.

Schmidt H ，Cleeland CS ，Bauer A ，Landenberger M ，Jahn P ... -  《-》