The pediatric cancer quality of life inventory-32 (PCQL-32). II. Feasibility and range of measurement

The Pediatric Cancer Quality of Life Inventory-32 (PCQL-32) has been develo ped to be a standardized assessment instrument to assess systematically ped iatric cancer patient's health-related quality of life (HRQOL) outcomes. Mu ltidimensional serial measurement of pediatric cancer patients' HRQOL in Ph ase III randomized controlled clinical trials is increasingly being recogni zed as an essential component in evaluating the comprehensive health outcom es of modem antineoplastic treatment protocols. The 32-item PCQL-32 short f orm was empirically derived from the PCQL long form (84-87 items), which wa s administered to 291 pediatric cancer patients and their parents during va rious stages of treatment. The feasibility (percentage of missing values pe r item) and range of measurement [percentage of minimum (floor effect) and maximum (ceiling effect) possible scores] was calculated for the five PCQL- 32 scales and the total scale score. Feasibility for the PCQL-32 was very g ood, with less than .01% missing values. Range of measurement was full, wit h no ceiling effects (higher symptoms/problems) and low to moderate poor ef fects (lower symptoms/problems), The PCQL-32 demonstrated very good feasibi lity and range of measurement. In its short form, the PCQL-32 is practical for Phase III clinical trials. Future studies will test the utility of the PCQL-32 as a brief serial measure for monitoring the HRQOL outcomes for chi ldren and adolescents with cancer.