Reviewer’s report
Title: 
An International Mixed Methods Study to Develop a New Preference-
Based Measure for Women with Breast Cancer: The BREAST-Q Utility Module
Version: 
0 
Date: 
03 May 2020
Reviewer's report:
Totally the present article is well-established and the subject is interesting, but
some major revision should be considered.
- More suitable title should be selected for the article. Title is long and should
decrease to 10-12 words.
- The abstract should state briefly the purpose of the research, the principal
results and major conclusions. An abstract is often presented separately from the
article, so it must be able to stand alone.
- It is suggested to present the structure of the article at the end of the
introduction.
- The necessity and innovation of the article should be presented to the
introduction.
- A flowchart should be added to the article to show the research methodology.
- The major defect of this study is the debate or Argument is not clear stated in
the introduction session. Hence, the contribution is weak in this manuscript. I
would suggest the author to enhance your theoretical discussion and arrives your
debate or argument.
- Sections and sub-sections should be numbered in order.
- More suitable title should be selected for the table 2 instead of "Summary of
changes made to the BREAST-Q Utility module after each round".
- Following, you will find some new related references which should be added to
literature review:
Ai, W. Participatory Action Research into Low Literates' Medical Needs in Rural
Communities;
Rokach, A. Loneliness in Pre and Post-operative Cancer Patients: A Mini
Review;
Zare, H. Effects of Salvia Officinalis Extract on the Breast Cancer Cell Line.
- Page 16: the following paragraph is unclear, so please reorganize that:
"Additional less frequently described symptoms included altered taste ("food
tasted different", "metallic taste", or "food tasted terrible"), loss of appetite,
nausea or vomiting, mouth sores, hot flashes, dry eyes, weight gain or loss,
headaches, feeling lightheaded or dizziness, chest pain, dyspnea, tachycardia,
vaginal dryness or itching, and frequent urination. Some women described
difficulty remembering things, and issues with recall, focus, or problem solving
("brain fog" or "chemo-brain") during and for months following chemotherapy."
- Much more explanations and interpretations must be added for the results,
which are not enough.
- It is suggested to compare the results of the present research with some similar
studies which is done before.
- Please make sure your conclusions' section underscore the scientific value
added of your paper, and/or the applicability of your findings/results, as
indicated previously. Please revise your conclusion part into more details.
Basically, you should enhance your contributions, limitations, underscore the
scientific value added of your paper, and/or the applicability of your
findings/results and future study in this session.
- DOI of the references must be added (you can use "https://crossref.org/").
Are the methods appropriate and well described?
If not, please specify what is required in your comments to the authors.
Yes
Does the work include the necessary controls?
If not, please specify which controls are required in your comments to the
authors.
Yes
Are the conclusions drawn adequately supported by the data shown?
If not, please explain in your comments to the authors.
No
Are you able to assess any statistics in the manuscript or would you
recommend an additional statistical review?
If an additional statistical review is recommended, please specify what aspects
require further assessment in your comments to the editors.
Not relevant to this manuscript
Quality of written English
Please indicate the quality of language in the manuscript:
Acceptable
Declaration of competing interests
Please complete a declaration of competing interests, considering the following
questions:
1
. 
Have you in the past five years received reimbursements, fees, funding, or
salary from an organisation that may in any way gain or lose financially
from the publication of this manuscript, either now or in the future?
2
. 
Do you hold any stocks or shares in an organisation that may in any way
gain or lose financially from the publication of this manuscript, either now
or in the future?
3
. 
Do you hold or are you currently applying for any patents relating to the
content of the manuscript?
4
. 
Have you received reimbursements, fees, funding, or salary from an
organization that holds or has applied for patents relating to the content of
the manuscript?
5
. 
Do you have any other financial competing interests?
6
. 
Do you have any non-financial competing interests in relation to this
paper?
If you can answer no to all of the above, write 'I declare that I have no competing
interests' below. If your reply is yes to any, please give details below.
I declare that I have no competing interests
Reviewer Publication Consent.
 I agree for my report to be made available
under an Open Access Creative Commons CC-BY License (
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
) if this manuscript is accepted for
publication. Any comments that I do not wish to be included in the published
report have been included as confidential comments to the editor, which will not
be published.
If you are not happy for us to publish this report, please contact the editorial
office before completing the review.
If you wish, you can include your name in your published report. Please note
you must decide whether to include your name at the start of the process and
confirm this decision whenever prompted. If you change your decision later, we
will not be able to publish your name.
I agree to the terms of the CC-BY 4.0 license; please 
do not
 publish my name
with my report. (default)