This study was designed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the newly completed Japanese translation of the Ferrans and Powers Quality of Life Index Cancer Version III (QLI). Using a cross‐sectional descriptive design, 136 ambulatory patients with gastrointestinal cancer (55 receiving chemotherapy, 76 with stable health status after treatment, and five status not known) completed a questionnaire at a one‐time point, and 26 patients (stable health status) completed the questionnaire again 2 weeks later. Internal consistency reliability was supported by Cronbach's α of .96 for the total scale, with subscales ranging from .83 to .93. A test–retest correlation of 0.76 (total scale) provided evidence of stability reliability over a 2‐week period, with subscale retest correlations ranging from 0.70 to 0.83. Confirmatory factor analysis showed the same four domains for the Japanese translation as the original QLI, supporting construct validity. We also assessed construct validity by examining the relationships between the Japanese QLI and six other concepts known to be related to the quality of life. As hypothesized, all correlations were moderate and in the expected direction (pain −0.39, anxiety −0.54, depression −0.63, stress −0.51, pain interfering with functioning −0.52, and general health 0.62). This evidence of the reliability and validity of the Japanese translation of the QLI supports its use in research and clinical practice to evaluate the impact of cancer and treatment. This new translation can be used to assess the patient's perspective of their quality of life, both within Japan and in cross‐cultural studies with the QLI in other languages.

Purpose The aim of this study was to examine the cross-sectional relationship between cancer survivors’ return-to-work (RTW) status and health-related quality of life (HR-QOL) following cancer diagnosis and treatment. Methods A questionnaire survey, which included three standardized HR-QOL instruments, was carried out among Japanese cancer survivors at their first follow-up appointment following hospital discharge. Participants were recruited by nurse investigators from 2016 to 2017 at their respective inpatient units. Statistical analyses were performed on the gathered data. Results Analysis of 94 returned questionnaires showed that symptom-related interference, physical function, mental function, and health and functioning, which were indicators of HR-QOL, and the factor “work category” were significantly associated with RTW status although symptoms, subjective well-being, and the other social background factors showed no statistically significant relationship with RTW status. Multinomial logistic regression analysis revealed that only the factor “work category,” which consisted of “physical” and “mental” work, had a significant effect on RTW status. Conclusions RTW status was associated with work category, symptom-related interference, physical function, mental function, and health and functioning; however, only the factor “work category” had significant influence. This study suggests that helping cancer survivors return to work considering the work category they are engaging is important. At that time interventions that are focused on the individual health functioning including physical and mental functions in preference to social background factors may get to be valuable.