CONCEPTUALIZATION AND MEASUREMENT OF QUAL ITY-OF-LIFE OF CANCER-PATIENTS

We have reviewed three attributes related with quality of life of canc er patients: definition, objectives and methods of measurement. The de finition most widely accepted is that quality of life is the ''subject ive evaluation of life as good or satisfactory as a whole''. It is pro posed that quality of life should be included as an outcome variable i n clinical trials, especially in palliative care; in addition it could be useful in clinical decisions and in planning care for cancer patie nts. Finally we have reviewed critically several scales that are being used for the measurement of quality of life of cancer patients.