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Abstract

The objective of this study was to test the reliability and validity of the Iranian version of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Breast Cancer-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ-BR23). The English-language version of the questionnaire was translated into Persian (Iranian language) and its final form was approved by the EORTC Study Group on Quality of Life and then it was used in this study. The questionnaire was administered at two points in time to a consecutive sample of 168 newly diagnosed breast cancer patients and almost all of them (99%) found the questions easy to understand and acceptable. Cronbach's alpha coefficient for multi-item scales (to test reliability) ranged from 0.63 to 0.95 at baseline and from 0.75 to 0.92 at follow-up administration of the questionnaire. Validity analysis was performed using known-groups' comparison analysis. The results showed that all functional and symptom scales discriminated between sub-groups of patients differing in clinical status as defined by their performance status and disease stage. In addition, all functional and symptoms scales detected change over time, as a function of changes in patients' performance status. In general, the findings of this study indicated that the Iranian version of the EORTC QLQ-BR23 is a reliable and valid supplementary measure of the quality of life in breast cancer patients and can be used in clinical trials and studies of outcome research in oncology.

Measuring breast cancer-specific health-related quality of life in South Asia: psychometric properties of the Sinhala version of the EORTC QLQ-BR23

“…Excellent results for multitrait scaling, comparable to the results of the original validation of the QLQ-BR23 by the EORTC [3], confirmed the hypothesized scale structure. Satisfactory Cronbach's alpha coefficients for all scales (except for breast symptoms, which failed marginally) confirmed the scale reliability, a result comparable to previous validations in Asian settings [16,17]. As expected, correlations between QLQ-BR23 scales and QLQ-C30 functional scales were comparatively lower than those among QLQ-BR23 scales or between QLQ-BR23 and conceptually related QLQ-C30 scales.…”

The association between physical activity and health-related quality of life among breast cancer survivors

“…It incorporates four functional scales (body image, sexual functioning, sexual enjoyment, and future perspective) and four symptom scales (systematic therapy side effects, breast symptoms, arm symptoms, and being upset by hair loss). All items are scored on 4-point Likert scales, ranging from 1 (“not at all”) to 4 (“very much”) [27, 28]. …”

Spiritual Therapy to Improve the Spiritual Well-Being of Iranian Women with Breast Cancer: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…This questionnaire is translated and validated in Persian by Montazeri et al in 2000 and they found that the Iranian version of the EORTC QLQ-C30 is a reliable and valid measure of health-related quality of life among women with breast cancer [45]. …”