Validation of the Pediatric Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Questionnaire (Version 2.0) in Brain Tumor Survivors Aged 13 Years and Older

We evaluated the reliability and validity of the Pediatric Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Childhood Brain Tumor Survivor Questionnaire (pedsFACT-BrS, Version 2). This was specifically directed to patients aged 13 years and older (adolescents). The pedsFACT-BrS was translated and cross-culturally adapted into Korean, following standard Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy methodology. The psychometric properties of the pedsFACT-BrS in adolescents were evaluated in 161 brain tumor (BT) patients (mean age = 15.53 years). Pretesting was performed in 30 patients, and the results indicated good symptom coverage and overall comprehensibility. In validating the pedsFACT-BrS for adolescents, we found high internal consistency, with Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranging from 0.76 to 0.91. The pedsFACT-BrS for adolescents also demonstrated good convergent and divergent validities when correlated with the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale and the Kovacs' Children's Depression Inventory. The pedsFACT-BrS for adolescents showed good clinical validity and effectively differentiated between clinically distinct patient groups according to Karnofsky score, type of treatment, and treatment on/off status. This reliable and valid instrument can now be used to properly evaluate the quality of life of Korean adolescent BT patients. J Pain Symptom Manage 2010;40:559-565. (C) 2010 US. Cancer Pain Relief Committee. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.