La calidad de vida relacionada a la salud: resultado importante de los tratamientos para el Cancer / Health-related quality of life: important result of cancer treatment

RESUMO

Health related quality of life is an integral part of the outcomes of cancer treatment. The purpose of this manuscript is to describe the concept of quality of life of cancer patients, and to summarize the validation studies of the ®Functional Assessment Cancer Therapy Scales® (FACT) in Hispanics. Results of the studies support the validity of the scale which has the following dimensions physical well-being, social/family well-being, relationship with doctor, emotional well-being, and functional well-being. The validation work makes possible the assessment of quality of life in Hispanics. Clinical trials which assess health related quality of life as a treatment outcome provide baseline information for decision making in the financing of oncology treatments