Measuring symptoms in localized prostate cancer: a systematic review of assessment instruments

Abstract

It is critical for prostate cancer researchers and clinicians to have access to comprehensive, sensitive and simple-to-use symptom measures that allow them to understand and quantify the subjective patient experience. The purpose of the current review is to provide a comprehensive review, detailed tool descriptions and objectively defined quality criteria to facilitate tool choices for patients with localized prostate cancer. Using a systematic web-based literature search, we found n=29 prostate symptom measures described in n=35 validation studies. To be recommended, tools needed to meet four criteria: broad domain coverage, ability to differentiate objective and subjective experience, good internal consistency and validation in at least two populations and/or having achieved two types of validations. Of the 29 tools reviewed, n=7 meet our criteria for recommendation, and three in particular (the EPIC-26 (Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite)-26, PC-QOL (Prostate Cancer-Quality of Life) and the UCLA-PCI (UCLA Prostate Cancer Index)) showed the strongest psychometrics. There is a reasonable number of measures to choose from that meet criteria for good psychometrics.

Quality of life after high-dose rate brachytherapy monotherapy for prostate cancer.

“…Similarly, others have reported 36-78% compliance rates (12,22). Since men who did not complete the form commonly stated that it was too long, we have switched to a 26-item, short--form version of EPIC in an effort to improve patient compliance (23,24).…”

Validation of the French-Canadian version of the Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite (EPIC) in a French-Canadian population

“…9 Two systematic comparisons of available instruments supported the use of the EPIC for the assessment of prostate-cancer specific HRQOL. 10,11 The EPIC has been validated in several languages (i.e., Norwegian, Spanish, Korean). [12][13][14] A French version is available, but only the EPIC-50 was validated.…”

Key issues affecting quality of life and patient-reported outcomes in prostate cancer: an analysis conducted in 2128 patients with initial psychometric assessment of the prostate cancer symptom scale (PCSS)

“…2 The current study was initiated to gain, for the first time, the input of a large number of patients with prostate cancer to provide evidence for PRO measures in general and for the new quality of life and PRO instrument, the prostate cancer symptom scale (PCSS), in particular. In addition to PCSS, a number of other QL and PRO measures, comprehensively described in a previous systematic review, 3 have been developed for patients with prostate cancer. Although the present analysis was initiated to support the content validity of the PCSS, the results reported herein can be of value for other prostate cancer PRO instruments.…”