The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Prostate (FACT-P) Scales in Men with Prostate Cancer: Reliability and Validity of the Korean Version

Abstract Background Diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer is associated with anxiety, fear, and depression in up to one-third of men. Yoga improves health-related quality of life (QoL) in patients with several types of cancer, but evidence of its efficacy in enhancing QoL is lacking in prostate cancer. Methods In this randomized controlled study, 29 men newly diagnosed with localized prostate cancer were randomized to yoga for 6 weeks (n = 14) or standard-of-care (n = 15) before radical prostatectomy. The primary outcome was self-reported QoL, assessed by the Expanded Prostate Index Composite (EPIC), Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Prostate (FACT-P), Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue (FACIT–F), Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) at baseline, preoperatively, and 6 weeks postoperatively. Secondary outcomes were changes in immune cell status and cytokine levels with yoga. Results The greatest benefit of yoga on QoL was seen in EPIC-sexual (mean difference, 8.5 points), FACIT-F (6.3 points), FACT-Functional wellbeing (8.6 points), FACT-physical wellbeing (5.5 points), and FACT-Social wellbeing (14.6 points). The yoga group showed increased numbers of circulating CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells, more production of interferon-gamma by natural killer cells, and increased Fc receptor III expression in natural killer cells. The yoga group also showed decreased numbers of regulatory T-cells, myeloid-derived suppressor cells, indicating antitumor activity, and reduction in inflammatory cytokine levels (granulocyte colony-stimulating factor [0.55 (0.05–1.05), p = 0.03], monocyte chemoattractant protein [0.22 (0.01–0.43), p = 0.04], and FMS-like tyrosine kinase-3 ligand [0.91 (−0.01, 1.82), p = 0.053]. Conclusions Perioperative yoga exercise improved QoL, promoted an immune response, and attenuated inflammation in men with prostate cancer. Yoga is feasible in this setting and has benefits that require further investigation. Trial registration clinicaltrials.org (NCT02620033).

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Psychometric evaluation of the Taiwanese version of the functional assessment of cancer therapy: a questionnaire for patients with lung cancer

International Journal for Quality in Health Care ◽

10.1093/intqhc/mzy201 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 31 (7) ◽

pp. 513-518

Author(s):

Wen-Pei Chang ◽

Yen-Kuang Lin ◽

Chia-Chin Lin

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Lung Cancer ◽

Cancer Therapy ◽

Functional Assessment ◽

Longitudinal Research ◽

Characteristic Curve ◽

Reliability And Validity ◽

Psychometric Evaluation ◽

Diagnosis Of Lung Cancer

Abstract Objective The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Lung (FACT-L) consists of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G) and the Lung Cancer Subscale. The FACT-L is commonly used to measure quality of life in patients with lung cancer. This study evaluated the reliability and validity of the FACT-L in examining patients with lung cancer in Taiwan. Design This was a methodology study. Setting Patients with lung cancer at a regional hospital in Northern Taiwan. Participants Patients who had received an early diagnosis of lung cancer between 2013 and 2015 were recruited as respondents. Intervention(s) None. Main outcome measure(s) To verify the reliability and validity of the Taiwanese version of the FACT-L. Results A total of 104 patients who had received an initial diagnosis of lung cancer were recruited. The overall internal consistency of the FACT-L, as assessed using Cronbach’s α, was 0.82. Among the patients, 64 had a test–retest reliability (r) of 0.45 (P < 0.001) at 6 weeks after treatment. Moreover, longitudinal research indicated that the FACT-L detected score differences before and after treatment in these patients (Cohen’s d = −0.26). The Taiwanese version of the FACT-L considers 2-year survival as the gold standard, and the optimal combination of sensitivity and specificity was obtained when the receiver operating characteristic curve revealed cutoff points of 80 and 68 for the FACT-L and FACT-G, respectively. Conclusions The Taiwanese version of the FACT-L can be widely applied to assess the quality of life of patients with lung cancer.

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