Validation of Korean Version of the COmprehensive Score for financial Toxicity (COST) Among Breast Cancer Survivors.

Abstract

PURPOSE:

Little is known about the impact of financial toxicity in disease-free breast cancer survivors. We aim to validate the COmprehensive Score for financial Toxicity in Korean (COST-K) and evaluate financial toxicity among disease-free breast cancer survivors.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

We conducted linguistic validation following a standardized methodology recommended by Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy multilingual translation (FACITtrans). For psychometric validation, we conducted a cross-sectional survey with 4,297 disease-free breast cancer survivors at a tertiary hospital in Seoul, Korea between November 2018 and April 2019. Survivors were asked to complete the COST-K and European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) questionnaires. The test-retest reliability, internal consistency, and validity of the COST-K were assessed using standard scale construction techniques.

RESULTS:

The COST-K demonstrated good internal consistency, with a Cronbach's α of 0.81. The test-retest analysis revealed an intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.78. The COST-K had moderate correlation (r=-0.60) with the financial difficulty item of the EORTC QLQ-C30 and week correlation with the items on acute and chronic symptom burdens (nausea/vomiting, -0.18; constipation, -0.14; diarrhea, -0.14), showing good convergent and divergent validity. The median COST-K was 27 (range, 0 to 44; mean±standard deivation [SD], 27.1±7.5) and about 30% and 5% of cancer survivors experienced mild and severe financial toxicity, respectively. Younger age, lower education, lower household income was associated with higher financial toxicity.

CONCLUSION:

The COST-K is a valid and reliable instrument for measuring financial toxicity in disease-free breast cancer survivors. Considering its impact on the health-related quality of life, more studies need to be conducted to evaluate financial toxicity in cancer survivors and design interventions.

• Authors: Sungkeun Shim, Danbee Kang, Nayeon Kim, Gayeon Han, Jihyun Lim, Hyunsoo Kim, Jeonghyun Park, Mankyung Lee, Jeong Eon Lee, Seok Won Kim, Jonghan Yu, Byung Joo Chae, Jai Min Ryu, Seok Jin Nam, Se Kyung Lee, Juhee Cho
• Journal: Cancer research and treatment (Cancer Res Treat) Vol. 54 Issue 3 Pg. 834-841 (Jul 2022) ISSN: 2005-9256 [Electronic] Korea (South)
• PMID: 34645130 (Publication Type: Journal Article)

Topics

• Breast Neoplasms (therapy)
• Cancer Survivors
• Cross-Sectional Studies
• Female
• Financial Stress
• Humans
• Quality of Life
• Reproducibility of Results
• Republic of Korea
• Surveys and Questionnaires