ArticleCancer2022
Floor and ceiling effects in the EORTC QLQ-C30 Physical Functioning Subscale among patients with advanced or metastatic breast cancer.
Article in Cancer, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Variability of quality-of-life measurements and reporting in randomised controlled trials of pancreatic cancer: a systematic review.BMJ open · 2024Pooled it
- The effect of Bach flower remedies on hope and quality of life in people with advanced cancer: a triple-blind randomized clinical trial.Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da U S P · 2026Trial
- Psychometric properties of the Brief Mishel Uncertainty in illness scales for patients with advanced cancer and their family caregivers.BMC psychology · 2025Trial
- Long-term efficacy of a computer-tailored physical activity intervention for prostate and colorectal cancer patients and survivors: A randomized controlled trial.Journal of sport and health science · 2023Trial
- Preliminary effects of an online diet, walking, and mindfulness-integrated lifestyle intervention for breast cancer survivors with overweight or obesity: A pilot randomized controlled trial.Asia-Pacific journal of oncology nursing · 2026Article
- Article
- Quality of care experience- aged care consumers (QCE-ACC) in residential aged care: an assessment of construct validity.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Trajectory of quality of life among patients with cancer at the end of life: a longitudinal survey study.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2025Article
- Responsiveness of the Dermatology Life Quality Index and the Colombian Validated Version of the Skindex-29 in Scarring and Non-Scarring Alopecia.Skin appendage disorders · 2025Article
- Lung life HRQoL measure: psychometric properties and initial data in presumptive TB.IJTLD open · 2025Article
- Article
- Do Measures of Real-World Physical Behavior Provide Insights Into the Well-Being and Physical Function of Cancer Survivors? Cross-Sectional Analysis.JMIR cancer · 2024Article
- Computerized-adaptive testing versus short forms for pediatric inflammatory bowel disease patient-reported outcome assessment.Journal of clinical and translational science · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 Physical Functioning subscale is a widely used patient-reported outcome measure that quantifies cancer patients' physical functioning. Strong floor/ceiling effects can affect a scale's sensitivity to change. The aim of this study was to characterize floor/ceiling effects of the physical functioning domain in patients with advanced/metastatic breast cancer enrolled in commercial clinical trials and a community-based trial.
methodsThe clinical trial cohort comprised patients from 5 registrational trials submitted to the Food and Drug Administration for review (2010-2017). The community cohort comprised a subgroup of patients from the Alliance Patient Reported Outcomes to Enhance Cancer Treatment (PRO-TECT) trial. The distribution of patient responses to Physical Functioning items and the summed score were assessed at the baseline and 3-month follow-up for both cohorts. Descriptive statistics were used to determine floor/ceiling effects at the item and scale levels.
resultsThe clinical trial cohort and the community cohort consisted of 2407 and 178 patients, respectively. Twenty-four percent or more of the respondents reported "not at all" for having trouble/needing help with each Physical Functioning item across both cohorts and measurement time points. Fourteen to twenty percent of the patients scored perfectly (100 of 100) on the Physical Functioning subscale summary measure (where higher scores indicated better physical functioning) across both cohorts and time points.
conclusionsMinor floor effects and notable ceiling effects were found at the item and scale levels of the Physical Functioning subscale, regardless of cohort, and this creates some uncertainty about its ability to detect changes in physical functioning among high-functioning patients. Investigators may consider adding additional high-functioning items from the EORTC's item library to more accurately describe the impact of anticancer treatment on patients' physical functioning.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.