OBJECTIVES:
- Determine the scale structure, reliability, and validity of the tumor-specific questionnaire, QLQ-STO22, in assessing the quality of life of patients with gastric cancer.
- Determine the questionnaire's sensitivity to change in clinical health status in these patients.
OUTLINE: Patients are stratified according to type of treatment (potentially curative vs potentially palliative), disease stage (local and locoregional vs metastatic), Karnofsky performance status (less than 80% vs more than 80%), and initial weight gain (none vs less than 10% of total body weight vs 10% or more of total body weight).
- Curatively Treated Group: Quality of life is assessed at 4 weeks prior to surgery and 3 months after surgery in patients receiving total or partial gastrectomy with curative intent; at 4 weeks prior to chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy, 4 weeks prior to surgery, and 3 months after surgery in patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy followed by total or partial gastrectomy with curative intent; at 4 weeks prior to chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy and 6 weeks after completion of therapy in patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy following total or partial gastrectomy; and at 4 weeks prior to therapy and 3 months after completion of therapy in patients receiving endoscopic mucosal resection or laparoscopic wedge resection.
- Palliatively Treated Group: Quality of life is assessed at 3 weeks prior to palliative therapy and 4 weeks after beginning palliative therapy.
PROJECTED ACCRUAL: Approximately 220 patients (110 per group) will be accrued for this study within 2 years.