%0 Journal Article
%T The Development and Validation of a Measure of Health-Related Quality of Life for Non-Hodgkin＊s Lymphoma: The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy〞Lymphoma (FACT-Lym)
%A Fay J. Hlubocky
%A Kimberly Webster
%A John Cashy
%A Jennifer Beaumont
%A David Cella
%J Lymphoma
%D 2013
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2013/147176
%X Background. The individual concerns of non-Hodgkin＊s lymphoma (NHL) patients require identification and assessment during clinical research proposing to measure patients＊ outcomes. The FACT-Lym was developed as part of the FACIT measurement system to address health-related quality-of-life (HRQL) issues for NHL patients. Patients and Methods. Items for the FACT lymphoma subscale (LymS) were generated from healthcare provider interviews, published literature, and content validity patient interviews. The FACT-Lym was validated on a sample of 84 NHL patients, with additional measures at baseline (T1), 3每7 days (T2), and 8每12 weeks (T3). Results. Item correlations, expert relevance ratings, and patient input on content shortened the initial 22-item LymS to 15 items. The validation sample included 56% female, 76.2% white, 60% indolent disease, and 85% receiving treatment. Internal consistency coefficients for the 15-item LymS (.79, .85, and .84 T1每T3) and test-retest stability (.84) indicated good reliability. Correlations between LymS and SF-36 physical ( ) and mental ( ) summary scores reflect concurrent validity. Responsiveness to ECOG performance status and treatment status exceeded established FACT subscale scores. The FACT-LymS differentiated patients＊ retrospective ratings of change in each of the three groups (better; unchanged; worse), . Conclusions. These results support the validity of the FACT-Lym and suggest it will be a useful targeted endpoint in NHL clinical research. 1. Introduction Non-Hodgkin＊s Lymphoma (NHL) affects approximately 66,000 Americans every year and is the sixth most common cancer among Americans. Five-year survival is better than 60% and 10-year relative survival is over 50% [1]. Significant advances in the clinical management of indolent and aggressive NHL-utilizing cancer therapeutics have improved both response and survival rates for patients thus making it a chronic disease [2, 3]. Autologous and allogeneic stem cell transplantation have shown to improve patient＊s outcomes including long-term survival [4每8]. Several treatment options promote disease remission or stability and can minimize side effects such as anemia, mucositis, and myelosuppression [9每12]. Psychological morbidity can also be reduced or managed [13每17]. However, despite improvement in survival and patient management, patients must still endure treatment toxicities with uncertain benefit to any individual treated. The demands of comorbid conditions, psychological distress, and general disease burden must be endured and balanced against treatment efficacy [8,
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/lymph/2013/147176/