European journal of cancer : official journal for European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) [and] European Association for Cancer Research (EACR)
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The objectives of the current study were to construct a colorectal cancer-specific quality of life (QL) questionnaire module to be used in conjunction with the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ-C30 and to test its reliability and validity in The Netherlands. Module construction took place following the EORTC guidelines for module development. The module--the QLQ-CR38--consists of 38 items covering symptoms and side-effects related to different treatment modalities, body image, sexuality and future perspective. ⋯ Additionally, selective scales detected change over time as a function of change in performance status and treatment-induced change. These results lend support to the clinical validity of the QLQ-CR38 as a supplementary questionnaire for assessing specific QL issues relevant to patients with colorectal cancer. Additional efforts to test the module's cross-cultural validity are needed.