THE DEVELOPMENT OF A FRENCH VERSION OF A QUESTIONNAIRE ON THE QUALITY-OF-LIFE IN CANCEROLOGY (FUNCTIONAL LIVING INDEX CANCER - FLIC)

The quality of life has become an indispensable element in the evaluat ion of treatments, especially as clinical trials are generally conduct ed in more than one country. In cancerology, numerous questionnaires h ave been developed and validated, but most of them are in English. Thi s article presents the stages of translation and validation of the Fre nch version of the FLIC (Functional Living Index - Cancer). It applies to a sample of 200 patients, 47% of whom have breast cancer. The acce ptability of this questionnaire is good (92.2%). The main psychometric criteria were verified. The Cronbach alpha coefficient, equal to 0.90 , shows good reliability. A factor analysis was conducted to examine c onstruct validity; it revealed a 5-factor solution accounting for 62% of the variance. These 5 factors are associated with specific domains: physical, psychological and social functioning, current well-being an d disease symptoms. The global scores of the FLIC correlate significan tly with those of the different scales of the EORTC QLC-C30. Moreover, clinical relevance is ensured by its correlation with certain clinica l variable (WHO index, location of tumour). The French version of the FLIC can be sued to measure the quality of life of patients afflicted with cancer, hut further studies are necessary to confirm its reliabil ity.