The validation of the standard Chinese version of EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL in terminal cancer patients

Objective This study evaluated the validity and reliability of the standard Chinese version of the EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL (The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 15 palliative) to determine if this tool can be used to evaluate Chinese patients with cancer who receive palliative care.Methods In May to August 2013,187 patients with advanced cancer who received palliative treatment in Tianjin Cancer Hospital completed the questionnaires of EORTC QLQ-C30.We extracted QLQ-C15-PAL data for analysis.The doctor-in-charge assessed the ECOG PS score and the mental state of these patients.Results A total of 187 patients completed the study.The compliance rate was high,with the missing rate for each item ranging from 0 to 2.7％.Three of four multi-item-scale correlations showed Cronbach α values of ＞0.7.We divided the ECOG perform status into two groups and compared QLQ-C15-PAL subscale scores between these groups.Results showed that the questionnaire discriminated among patient subgroups with different ECOG perform status.Global quality of life was moderately correlated with the fatigue(r=-0.406) but only weakly correlated with other subscales.The proportion of variance (R2) ranged from 0.838 to 0.906,which showed that QLQ-C15-PAL subscale scores could explain between 83.8％ and 90.6％ of the original QLQ-C30.Conclusions The Chinese version of the EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL questionnaire has higher reliability and validity,which is suitable for clinic promotion in China to determine HRQL in Chinese patients with terminal cancer. Key words: Advanced cancer;  Palliative care;  EORTC;  QLQ-C15-PAL