Cancer Res Treat.  2018 Apr;50(2):405-415. 10.4143/crt.2017.012.

Development and Evaluation of a Korean Version of a Thyroid-Specific Quality-of-Life Questionnaire Scale in Thyroid Cancer Patients

• Ryu CH
• Park B
• Ryu J
• Ryu YM
• Jo SA
• Lee YJ
• Lee EK
• Hwangbo Y
• Joo J
• Jung YS

• KMID: 2411130
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4143/crt.2017.012

Abstract

PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to develop a Korean version of the self-reported thyroid-specific quality of life (QoL) questionnaire for thyroid cancer patients (KT-QoL), and to evaluate its reliability and validity.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Two hundred seventy-two patients who underwent thyroidectomy from January to December 2010 were recruited in this study. The original version of the thyroid QoL was translated into Korean and evaluated for its reliability and validity. Using the developed KT-QoL, the postoperative QoL was evaluated until postoperative 1 year.
RESULTS
At the preoperative baseline, the item internal consistency (IIC) ranged from −0.19 to 0.76, with low IIC values for items 2, 17, and 27. Item discriminant validity ranged from 86% to 97%. These values were similar at the postoperative periods. The internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's α) was high for all dimensions, ranging from 0.90 to 0.95. The test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient) was acceptable (0.74-0.82). The external validity examined by the correlation between the item 1j (voice changes) of KT-QoL and the voice handicap index-30 ranged from 0.51 to 0.75. Patients' QoL scores decreased after surgery, which demonstrated the sensitivity of the questionnaire. The QoL scores in patients with lobectomy showed best QoL scores postoperatively and those with receiving radioactive iodine still showed decreased QoL scores along the postoperative periods.
CONCLUSION
These results demonstrate that KT-QoL is a valid instrument for evaluating QoL of Korean patients with thyroid cancer.

Keyword

Quality of life; Thyroid gland; Thyroid neoplasms; Surveys and questionnaires; Validation studies

MeSH Terms

Humans
Iodine
Postoperative Period
Quality of Life
Reproducibility of Results
Surveys and Questionnaires
Thyroid Gland*
Thyroid Neoplasms*
Thyroidectomy
Voice
Iodine

Figure

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  Fig. 1. Comparison of mean Korean version of the self-reported questionnaire for thyroid cancer patients (KT-QoL) scale scores over time.

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  Fig. 2. Comparison of mean Korean version of the self-reported questionnaire for thyroid cancer patients (KT-QoL) scale scores over time according to treatment strategy. TT, total thyroidectomy; RAI, radioactive iodine.

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  Fig. 3. Comparison of mean Korean version of the self-reported questionnaire for thyroid cancer patients (KT-QoL) scale scores over time according to tumor stages.

Reference

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