Several instruments have been designed to evaluate health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with bladder cancer (BC). However, they vary in purpose, domains, and quality. To identify QoL instruments that have been validated for BC patients and to critically assess their domains and limitations.
Of the 11 instruments identified, seven have been externally validated. Of these, four can be used across all disease states; two are available for QoL assessment in patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC); and the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) module is intended for use together with a generic cancer-specific tool. Of the three instruments available to assess QoL in patients with muscle invasive bladder cancer (MIBC), EORTC Quality of Life Questionnaire-Bladder Cancer Muscle Invasive30 (QLQ-BLM30) and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Bladder-Cystectomy (FACT-Bl-Cys) need to be used each with their respective generic core questionnaire, whereas Ileal Orthotopic Neobladder-Pro Questionnaire is intended only to evaluate patients who have received an orthotopic neobladder.The core domains assessed by these instruments include social functioning, mental health, physical function, urinary function and sexual function.
No optimal BC-specific QoL instruments exist. Multiple cancer- and BC-specific instruments are required to cover each of the relevant domains. Selected tools should be reviewed within the context of specific research objectives.
Current opinion in urology. 2021 May 10 [Epub ahead of print]
Kristin Zimmermann, Hadi Mostafaei, Axel Heidenreich, Hans U Schmelz, Shahrokh F Shariat, Keiichiro Mori
Department of Urology, Federal Armed Services Hospital Koblenz, Koblenz, Germany Department of Urology, Comprehensive Cancer Center, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria Department of Urology, The Jikei University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan Research Center for Evidence-Based Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran Department of Urology, Uro-Oncology, Robot-Assisted and Specialized Urologic Surgery, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany Department of Urology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA Department of Urology, Second Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic Department of Urology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York, USA Karl Landsteiner Institute of Urology and Andrology, Vienna, Austria Department of Urology, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan.