First EORTC anal cancer-specific questionnaire validated

Brussels, 18th November 2022: The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Group is proud to announce the validation of the first questionnaire for anal cancer-specific health-related quality of life, as confirmed in the related study by Samantha Sodergren et al.¹ published yesterday in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics.

Anal cancer is rare, accounting for less than 1% of all cancer diagnoses, and its incidence is on the rise, but it is also highly treatable. Nevertheless, patients’ health-related quality of life can be seriously impacted by this cancer and its treatment. Which is why it was crucial to develop a questionnaire to assess this, to be used in clinical trials and routine care.

The health-related quality of life questionnaire for anal cancer (QLQ-ANL27) supplements the EORTC cancer generic one (QLQ-C30) and aims to measure concerns specific to people with anal cancer treated with chemoradiotherapy.

This study by Sodergren et al. was designed to test the validity and reliability of the QLQ-ANL27 questionnaire. Based on the data collected from 382 patients, across 15 countries, the study confirms that this anal cancer-specific questionnaire is comprehensive, easy to complete and acceptable across different geographical regions and in the 16 available language versions.

“The validation of this new questionnaire is an important achievement: the QLQ-ANL27 will allow clinicians and researchers to directly address the experience of patients with anal cancer and capture more accurately their health-related quality of life”, highlights Dr Samantha Sodergren, Senior Research Fellow at the University of Southampton and study first author; adding that: “Importantly also, this questionnaire is used in clinical trials as well as has a potential role in clinical practice”.

The QLQ-ANL27 has already been widely adopted within the scientific community with its inclusion in clinical trials. It is available upon request from the EORTC Quality of Life Group.²

The Quality of Life Group (QLG) strives to improve health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of cancer patients, through dedicated research and the use of HRQoL measures within cancer clinical trials and clinical practice. HRQoL constitutes an important aspect of cancer research and care: it gives a voice to patients, putting their experience at the forefront. The QLG is part of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC).

For further information, please visit the QLG website: qol.eortc.org

The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation, which unites clinical cancer research experts, throughout Europe, to define better treatments for cancer patients to prolong survival and improve quality of life. Spanning from translational to large, prospective, multi-centre, phase III clinical trials that evaluate new therapies and treatment strategies as well as patient quality of life, its activities are coordinated from EORTC Headquarters, a unique international clinical research infrastructure, based in Brussels, Belgium.
For further information, please visit the EORTC website: www.eortc.org