Investigation of common symptoms of cancer and reliability analysis

Abstract

Objective

To identify cancer distribution and treatment requirements, a questionnaire on cancer patients was conducted. It was our objective to validate a series of symptoms commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).

Methods

The M. D. Anderson Symptom Assessment Inventory (MDASI) was used with 10 more TCM items added. Questions regarding TCM application requested in cancer care were also asked. A multi-center, cross-sectional study was conducted in 340 patients from 4 hospitals in Beijing and Dalian. SPSS and Excel software were adopted for statistical analysis. The questionnaire was self-evaluated with the Cronbach’s alpha score.

Results

The most common symptoms were fatigue 89.4%, sleep disturbance 74.4%, dry mouth 72.9%, poor appetite 72.9%, and difficulty remembering 71.2%. These symptoms affected work (89.8%), mood (82.6%), and activity (76.8%), resulting in poor quality of life. Eighty percent of the patients wanted to regulate the body with TCM. Almost 100% of the patients were interested in acquiring knowledge regarding the integrated traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Western medicine (WM) in the treatment and rehabilitation of cancer. Cronbach’s alpha score indicated that there was acceptable internal consistency within both the MDASI and TCM items, 0.86 for MDASI, 0.78 for TCM, and 0.90 for MDASITCM (23 items).

Conclusions

Fatigue, sleep disturbance, dry mouth, poor appetite, and difficulty remembering are the most common symptoms in cancer patients. These greatly affect the quality of life for these patients. Patients expressed a strong desire for TCM holistic regulation. The MDASI and its TCM-adapted model could be a critical tool for the quantitative study of TCM symptoms.