A new instrument to assess quality of life in lung cancer patients: A pilot study

Purpose: The aim of this study was to collect some data to validate a new scale to assess quality of life in lung cancer patients. Material and methods: Karnofsky Index and the 32 items that constitute the new instrument were assessed twice in 50 patients at stages III and IV: 1) At diagnosis just prior to begin the treatment, and 2) Three weeks later, while radiotherapy or chemotherapy treatments were yet being applied. Results: Factor analysis indicated that construct validity was satisfactory when items were reduced to 26 and clustered into two scales: 'functional and somatic scale' and 'psychosocial scale'. Both scales show a great reliability with Cronbach's alpha values higher than 0.80. Furthermore, criterion validity was also achieved since a high correlation between the Karnofsky Index and the 'functional and somatic scale' was observed. Conclusions: Results show that a good quality of life assessment can be obtained with this instrument using fewer items than other quality of life scales previously proposed.