Researchers confirm the validity of the EORTC QLQ‑F17 questionnaire to assess cancer patients’ quality of life

A team of international researchers establish the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ-F17 as an equivalent to the EORTC QLQ-C30 to assess functioning in cancer patients—a finding that can help tailor quality of life (QoL) measurement strategy to specific needs in clinical care and research. The new study by Florian Zeman et al.,¹ published this month in eClinicalMedicine, examined whether the EORTC QLQ-F17, a shorter version of the well-established EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire, held up in measures of precision, reliability, and consistency across different countries and care settings.

• The study explored the validity and comparability of values gathered through the EORTC QLQ‑F17, a shorter version of the EORTC QLQ-30;
• The EORTC QLQ-F17 focuses solely on patients’ functioning—such as physical activity and emotional well-being—and excludes symptom-related questions from the EORTC QLQ-C30 like pain or nausea.

1. Efficiency: The 17-question questionnaire is quicker to complete, reducing burden on patients and clinical practitioners;
2. Reliability: In this randomised, cross-over, multinational study, the EORTC QLQ‑F17 demonstrated strong psychometric properties, meaning it consistently captures key functioning aspects of patients’ quality of life;
3. Utility in clinical practice and research: By maintaining accuracy while cutting length, the EORTC QLQ‑F17 promises to become a go-to tool for monitoring patient well-being in both everyday medical practice and large-scale cancer studies.

This shortened questionnaire, the EORTC QLQ‑F17, is as effective as the full version at evaluating how patients are functioning in daily life—including physical, role, emotional, and social aspects. It can be used in future research without losing comparability to studies administering the EORTC QLQ-C30. Its brevity promises to boost completion rates and reduce fatigue without sacrificing valuable data. If needed, the EORTC QLQ-F17 can also be supplemented with relevant symptom items from the EORTC Item Library, allowing for a time-efficient and flexible measurement strategy.

The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation, which unites clinical cancer research experts, throughout Europe, to define better treatments for cancer patients to prolong survival and improve quality of life. Spanning from translational to large, prospective, multi-centre, phase III clinical trials that evaluate new therapies and treatment strategies as well as patient quality of life, its activities are coordinated from EORTC Headquarters, a unique international clinical research infrastructure, based in Brussels, Belgium.
For more information, please visit the EORTC website: www.eortc.org

The EORTC Quality of Life Group (QLG) strives to improve health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of cancer patients, through dedicated research and the use of HRQoL measures within cancer clinical trials and clinical practice. HRQoL constitutes an important aspect of cancer research and care: it gives a voice to patients, putting their experience at the forefront. The QLG is part of the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC).

Caroline Hance (EORTC QLG)
caroline.hance@eortc.org

¹ Zeman, Florian et al. (2025) The EORTC QLQ-F17 as a shortened version of the EORTC QLQ-C30 to assess self-reported functioning in cancer patients: investigating equivalence and psychometric properties in a randomized cross-over trial. eClinicalMedicine, Volume 84, 103262. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2025.103262