Psychometric evaluation of electronic diaries assessing side-effects of hormone therapy

OBJECTIVES

Postmenopausal women (PMW) can experience side-effects (breast pain/tenderness and vaginal spotting/bleeding) associated with estrogen plus progestin therapies (EPTs). To assess these outcomes, the Breast Pain and Tenderness Daily Diary (BPT-DD) and the Vaginal Bleeding and Spotting Daily Diary (VBS-DD) were developed for electronic completion (eDiaries). This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the eDiaries.

METHODS

The eDiaries were completed daily for 28 days by 202 PMW experiencing breast pain/tenderness and/or vaginal spotting/bleeding while on EPTs. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) investigated the BPT-DD structure. Response distributions, test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC]), internal consistency (BPT-DD only), and construct validity (via known groups and convergent validity analyses) were assessed.

RESULTS

Completion rates were high: over 90% of women missed <3 daily entries. CFA supported the BPT-DD unidimensional structure (Bentler's Comparative Fit Index >0.98). BPT-DD inter-item correlations (r = 0.77-0.89) and internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.95-0.97) were high and good test-retest reliability was demonstrated (ICC ≥ 0.70). The eDiaries correlated moderately (>0.40), in a logical pattern with other instruments, supporting convergent validity. Known-groups analyses indicated both measures demonstrated significant differences between patients of differing severity (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

The study provides evidence of strong psychometric properties for the BPT-DD and VBS-DD to assess breast pain/tenderness and spotting/bleeding in PMW.

Quality of life (QOL) predicts for progression-free survival (PFS) in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) treated with sunitinib compared to interferon-alpha (IFN-α)

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Background: In a recent international, randomized phase III trial, sunitinib malate, an oral multitargeted receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor of VEGFRs, PDGFRs, KIT, RET and FLT3 with both antitumor and antiangiogenic effects, was associated with statistically superior clinical efficacy and superior health-related QOL vs. IFN-a as first-line therapy in patients with mRCC (Motzer et al, Proc ASCO 2006;24:2s [Abstract LBA3]). Here we report a substudy of baseline QOL variables predicting PFS. Methods: 750 mRCC patients were randomized 1:1 to receive either sunitinib 50 mg orally once daily in repeated 6-week cycles (4 weeks on treatment followed by 2 weeks off) or IFN-a (9 MU via subcutaneous injection 3 times weekly). QOL was measured by the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G), the FACT-Kidney Symptom Index's Disease-Related Symptoms subscale (FKSI-DRS), and the patient self-rated overall health state (EQ-VAS) from the EuroQol Group's EQ-5D self-report questionnaire. For all QOL endpoints, higher scores indicated better outcomes (better QOL or fewer symptoms). Cox proportional-hazards model was used to test which baseline QOL variables predict PFS while controlling for other baseline demographic and clinical factors as well as treatment. Because the three QOL scores are correlated (r=0.61–0.69), three separate univariate models were fitted. Results and Conclusions: All three baseline QOL variables were predictive of PFS: better baseline FACT-G, FKSI-DRS and EQ-VAS scores were associated with longer PFS. When QOL and other baseline variables were controlled in the models, the superior treatment effect of sunitinib on PFS remained robust and large (See the table below).

[Table: see text]