Reliability and Validity of the EORTC QLQ-CIPN20 (European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy 20-Item Scale) among Thai Women with Breast Cancer Undergoing Taxane-Based Chemotherapy.

Objective: The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy 20-item scale (EORTC QLQ-CIPN20) is the common method for determining taxane-induced peripheral neuropathy (TIPN) symptoms. However, there have been no studies on the psychometric properties of the Thai Version of EORTC QLQ-CIPN20. The aim of this study was to evaluate the test-retest reliability, concurrent validity, and contrasting group validity of the Thai Version of EORTC QLQ-CIPN20 among women with breast cancer who received taxane-based chemotherapy.

Methods: Twenty-eight breast cancer patients and 28 healthy controls participated in the study. Internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and inter-rater reliability were assessed using Cronbach α and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Concurrent validity was assessed via the Spearman correlation coefficient of the total scale of the EORTC QLQ-CIPN20 and the Total Neuropathy Score clinical version (TNSc), and contrasting group validity was assessed via the Mann-Whitney U test.

Results: The internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and inter-rater reliability of the Thai Version of EORTC QLQ-CIPN20 was high to excellent (Cronbach α = 0.89, ICC = 0.84-0.95 and 0.78-0.94, respectively). However, the concurrent validity between the Thai Version of EORTC QLQ-CIPN20 and TNSc was not considered statistically significant. Contrasting group validity demonstrated statistically significant differences between breast cancer patients and healthy controls.

Conclusions: The results support that the Thai Version of EORTC QLQ-CIPN20 is reliable and valid in measuring TIPN symptoms in Thai women with breast cancer. The findings suggest that the Thai Version of EORTC QLQ-CIPN20 may be used to distinguish TIPN symptoms between healthy controls and women with breast cancer undergoing taxane-based chemotherapy.