# Aaronson 1993: the EORTC QLQ-C30 quality of life questionnaire

Source: https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-aaronson-eortc-qlq-c30-jnci-1993/  
OnCo record `paper-aaronson-eortc-qlq-c30-jnci-1993` (Key paper). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

The 30-question form that lets cancer trials measure how patients feel and function, tested first in lung cancer patients across 13 countries and now used in thousands of studies.

## Summary

Aaronson and the EORTC Study Group on Quality of Life designed a core questionnaire for use in international cancer trials and tested it in 305 patients with non-resectable lung cancer in 13 countries before and during treatment. The QLQ-C30 covers five functioning scales (physical, role, cognitive, emotional and social), symptom scales for fatigue, pain and nausea and vomiting, single items for other common symptoms and financial impact, and a global health and quality of life scale. Its scales showed acceptable reliability, distinguished patients by performance status and weight loss, and changed with clinical status over time.

## Fields

- Kind: Key paper
- Last checked: 2026-09-08
- Journal: JNCI: Journal of the National Cancer Institute
- Year: 1993
- DOI: 10.1093/jnci/85.5.365
- Authors: Aaronson NK, Ahmedzai S, Bergman B, et al.
- Findings: Field-tested in 305 lung cancer patients from 13 countries, before and during treatment.; Thirty items forming five functioning scales, three symptom scales, six single items and a global quality of life scale.; Scales were reliable, distinguished clinically distinct patient groups and responded to change in clinical status.
- What it means: The QLQ-C30 made patient-reported quality of life a standard trial endpoint and is the instrument behind many of the quality of life claims on drug labels and in health technology assessments. Cancer-specific modules were later added on top of the core questionnaire.
- Caveats: Validated first in lung cancer; later modules extend it to other cancers.; Quality of life data in trials are often incomplete because sicker patients stop filling in forms.

## Sources

- Full text (DOI): https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/85.5.365
- EORTC Quality of Life Group: https://qol.eortc.org/

## Connected records

- cancers: [Non-small-cell lung cancer](https://onco.cc/cancers/nsclc/)
- terms: [Quality of life](https://onco.cc/terms/quality-of-life/), [Quality of life and patient-reported outcomes (QoL, PRO)](https://onco.cc/terms/qol-pro/)
- key papers: [Cella 1993: the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT-G) quality of life scale](https://onco.cc/key-papers/paper-cella-fact-g-jco-1993/)

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