| Cancer patients may experience a host of practical and emotional problems as they adjust to their diagnosis, disease-related symptoms and treatment side effects. Comprehensive assessment of cancer-related problems and distress can facilitate timely triage and intervention, and contribute to individualized, responsive, and comprehensive cancer care. In research, such an instrument can be used for needs and risk assessment, to characterize relevant subgroups, and to assess clinical outcomes. The 39-item Cancer Problem-Based Biopsychosocial Screening Instrument (CPBBSI) is a self-report, problem-based measure of cancer-related distress. Initial data supported the reliability and validity in a sample of 100 cancer patients (73 female, 23 male; stages I--IV) at the Moores UCSD Cancer Center. Patients completed the CPBBSI, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-General (FACT-G), Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), and Paulhas Deception Scale (PDS), with 50 patients completing the CPBBSI again within one week. Results suggested the CPBBSI had excellent test-retest reliability (r=.99, p<.01), was highly correlated with the HADS (r=.62, p<.01) and FACT-G (r =.74, p<.01), was moderately correlated with the BSI (r=.55, p <.01) and was minimally confounded by social desirability ( r=.21, p<.05). Further, subscale scores assessing depression, anxiety and fatigue also showed excellent test-retest reliability (rs>.99, ps<.01) and were correlated with related measures in expected ways. The CPBBSI total score varied by demographic groups (gender, ethnicity, age) in predicted ways. ROC curve analysis showed that the CPBBSI provided high sensitivity and specificity in detecting depression, anxiety and distress. Initial results suggest the CPBBSI may be a useful addition to cancer patient assessment, research, and care. |
