RESULTS ( 1 ) EQ-5D was valid and responsive for skin conditions and most cancers ; in vision , its performance varied according to aetiology ; and performance was poor for hearing impairments .
The HUI3 performed well for hearing and vision disorders .
It also performed well in cancers although evidence was limited and there was no evidence in skin conditions .
Response mapping using all the domain scores was the best performing model for the EORTC QLQ-C30 .
In an exploratory analysis , a limited dependent variable mixture model performed better than an equivalent linear model .
3 ) The exploratory valuation study found that bolt-on items for vision , hearing and tiredness had a significant impact on values of the health states , but the direction and magnitude of differences depended on the severity of the health state .
The vision bolt-on item had a statistically significant impact on EQ-5D health state values and a full valuation model was estimated .
EQ-5D performs well in studies of cancer and skin conditions .
Mapping techniques provide a solution to predict EQ-5D values where EQ-5D has not been administered .
For conditions where EQ-5D was found to be inappropriate , including some vision disorders and for hearing , bolt-ons provide a promising solution .
BACKGROUND The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommends the use of generic preference-based measures ( GPBMs ) of health for its Health Technology Assessment s ( HTAs ) .
However , these data may not be available or appropriate for all health conditions .
OBJECTIVES To determine whether GPBMs are appropriate for some key conditions and to explore alternative methods of utility estimation when data from GPBMs are unavailable or inappropriate .
( 2 ) Potential modelling approaches to ' map ' EQ-5D values from condition-specific and clinical measures of health [ European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality -of-life Question naire Core 30 ( EORTC QLQ-C30 ) and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - General Scale ( FACT-G ) ] are compared for predictive ability and goodness of fit using two separate data sets . (
Quality of life after palliative treatment for oesophageal carcinoma -- a prospective comparison between stent placement and single dose brachytherapy.
Metal stent placement and single dose brachytherapy are commonly used treatment modalities for the palliation of inoperable oesophageal carcinoma . We investigated generic and disease-specific health-related quality of life ( HRQoL ) after these palliative treatments . Patients with dysphagia from inoperable oesophageal carcinoma were r and omised to placement of a covered Ultraflex stent ( n = 108 ) or single dose ( 12 Gy ) brachytherapy ( n = 101 ) . We obtained longitudinal data on disease-specific ( dysphagia score , European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer ( EORTC ) OES-23 , visual analogue pain scale ) and generic ( EORTC Quality of Life-Core 30 Question naire ( QLQ-C30 ) , Euroqol (EQ)-5D ) HRQoL at monthly home visits by a specially-trained research nurse . We compared HRQoL between the two treatments and analysed changes in HRQoL during follow-up . Dysphagia improved more rapidly after stent placement than after brachytherapy , but long-term relief of dysphagia was better after brachytherapy . For generic HRQoL , there was an overall significant difference in favour of brachytherapy on four out of five functional scales of the EORTC QLQ-C30 ( role , emotional , cognitive and social ) ( P < 0.05 ) . Generic HRQoL deteriorated over time on all functional scales of the EORTC QLQ C-30 and EQ-5D , in particular physical and role functioning ( on average -23 and -24 on a 100 points scale during 0.5 years of follow-up ) . This decline was more pronounced in the stent group . Major improvements were seen on the dysphagia and eating scales of the EORTC OES-23 , in contrast to other scales of this disease-specific measure , which remained almost stable during follow-up . Reported levels of chest or abdominal pain remained stable during follow-up in both treatment groups , general pain levels increased to a minor extent . The effects of single dose brachytherapy on HRQoL compared favourably to those of stent placement for the palliation of oesophageal cancer . Future studies on palliative care for oesophageal cancer should at least include generic HRQoL scales , since these were more responsive in measuring patients ' functioning and well-being during follow-up than disease-specific HRQoL scales
RESULTS ( 1 ) EQ-5D was valid and responsive for skin conditions and most cancers ; in vision , its performance varied according to aetiology ; and performance was poor for hearing impairments .
The HUI3 performed well for hearing and vision disorders .
It also performed well in cancers although evidence was limited and there was no evidence in skin conditions .
Response mapping using all the domain scores was the best performing model for the EORTC QLQ-C30 .
In an exploratory analysis , a limited dependent variable mixture model performed better than an equivalent linear model .
3 ) The exploratory valuation study found that bolt-on items for vision , hearing and tiredness had a significant impact on values of the health states , but the direction and magnitude of differences depended on the severity of the health state .
The vision bolt-on item had a statistically significant impact on EQ-5D health state values and a full valuation model was estimated .
EQ-5D performs well in studies of cancer and skin conditions .
Mapping techniques provide a solution to predict EQ-5D values where EQ-5D has not been administered .
For conditions where EQ-5D was found to be inappropriate , including some vision disorders and for hearing , bolt-ons provide a promising solution .
BACKGROUND The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommends the use of generic preference-based measures ( GPBMs ) of health for its Health Technology Assessment s ( HTAs ) .
However , these data may not be available or appropriate for all health conditions .
OBJECTIVES To determine whether GPBMs are appropriate for some key conditions and to explore alternative methods of utility estimation when data from GPBMs are unavailable or inappropriate .
( 2 ) Potential modelling approaches to ' map ' EQ-5D values from condition-specific and clinical measures of health [ European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality -of-life Question naire Core 30 ( EORTC QLQ-C30 ) and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - General Scale ( FACT-G ) ] are compared for predictive ability and goodness of fit using two separate data sets . (