Quality of Life Questionnaire Validation for Patients with Pelvic Bone Tumors

Quality of life of patients with orthopedic oncological pathology is one of the most important indicators of therapy and rehabilitation effectiveness, a parameter important for establishment of comprehensive approach involving teamwork from doctors and psychologists. Currently, there are many instruments for quality of life evaluation in patients with various chronic diseases including oncological but a specialized questionnaire for patients with pelvic bone tumors does not exist. Nonetheless, characteristics of quality of life of patients with this pathology should be considered for optimal management of psychological and rehabilitation measures, and their dynamics can serve as criteria of treatment and rehabilitation effectiveness.

Aim. To develop and test a quality of life questionnaire for patients who underwent surgery on the pelvic bones.

Materials and methods. The Quality of Life Questionnaire Pelvic Bone Tumor – 30 (QLQ PBT-30) was developed and tested in 37 patients with tumors of the pelvic bones (20 (54.1 %) males and 17 (45.9 %) females) who were under-going treatment at the General Oncology Division of the N.N. Blokhin National Medical Research Center of Oncology. Mean patient age was 48.15 ± 8.95 years.

Results. Psychometric characteristics of the QLQ PBT-30 (validity, reliability) are quite high. Factor analysis confirms correspondence of the factor structure of the questionnaire to the proposed key. Every question contributes to the method structure confirmed by high values of Cronbach’s α.

Conclusion. Specialized questionnaire for patients who underwent surgical treatment on pelvic bones can be recommended for use in orthopedic oncology practice for more accurate evaluation of quality of life of patients with tumors of the pelvic bones.