Cella 1993: the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT-G) quality of life scale
The other widely used cancer quality of life questionnaire, developed in the United States alongside the EORTC QLQ-C30, covering physical, social and family, emotional and functional wellbeing and extended by cancer-specific modules.
Overview
Cella and colleagues developed and validated the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy general scale (FACT-G), a self-administered questionnaire for patients receiving cancer treatment, through item generation with patients and clinicians, item reduction and testing in patients with a range of cancers. The scale covers physical wellbeing, social and family wellbeing, emotional wellbeing and functional wellbeing, showed good reliability and validity, distinguished patients by performance status and stage, and was sensitive to change over time. Disease-, treatment- and symptom-specific subscales were built on top of the core.
- A brief, self-administered general quality of life measure for patients on cancer treatment, with physical, social and family, emotional and functional wellbeing domains.
- Demonstrated internal consistency, test-retest reliability and validity against performance status and stage.
- Designed as a core to which cancer-specific subscales are added, now the FACIT measurement system.
FACT-G and the EORTC QLQ-C30 are the two instruments behind most patient-reported quality of life results in cancer trials and regulatory submissions. Knowing which was used matters when comparing quality of life claims between trials.
- Developed and validated mainly in US patients.
- Quality of life data in trials are often incomplete because the sickest patients stop completing questionnaires.