Overview
The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy - Breast (FACT-B) is a 37-item instrument designed to measure five domains of HRQOL in breast cancer patients: Physical, social, emotional, functional well-being as well as a breast-cancer subscale (BCS). Utilized with the 27 core FACT-G items, the FACT-B was developed with an emphasis on patients’ values and brevity. Initial validation involved two patient samples. The first was tested twice over a 2-month period to assess sensitivity to change. Significant sensitivity to change in performance status rating (PSR) was demonstrated for the FACT-B total score, the Physical Well-Being (PWB) subscale, the Functional Well-Being (FWB) subscale, and the BCS. Sensitivity to change in QL as measured by the Functional Living Index-Cancer (FLIC) was documented in the FACT-B total score, PWB, FWB, and Emotional Well-Being (EWB). Additional validity and reliability data were obtained from a larger sample. The alpha coefficient (internal consistency) for the FACT-B total score was high (a = .90), with subscale alpha coefficients ranging from .63 to .86. Evidence supported test-retest reliability, as well as convergent, divergent, and known groups validity.
MEASURE NAME:
Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy – Breast (FACT-B)
VERSION:
4
NUMBER OF ITEMS:
37
PATIENT POPULATION:
Breast cancer patients 18 years and older
RECALL PERIOD:
Past 7 days
RESPONSE SCALE:
5 point Likert-type scale
DATA COLLECTION:
Paper and electronic
ADMINISTRATION:
Self-administration and interview when applicable
SUBSCALE DOMAINS:
Physical Well-Being, Social/Family Well-Being, Emotional Well-Being, Functional Well-Being, Breast Cancer Subscale
TIME FOR COMPLETION:
10-15 minutes
SCORING:
Manual scoring template, some items are reverse scored. Subscale scores, total scores and TOI possible. SAS/SPSS algorithms available.
RELATED MEASURES:
Language Availability
Available translations of the FACT-B can be obtained by registering for permission. Users are not permitted to translate the FACT-B without permission from FACIT.org. Permission from FACIT.org to translate the FACT-B may also be contingent upon timeline expectations and availability of FACIT staff. Translations must undergo a rigorous methodology under the guidance of FACIT.org which includes multiple translators, QA steps and cognitive interviews with patients. For commercial use, FACITtrans is the approved translation vendor to translate the FACIT measurement system.
Please contact us for more information.
Licensing
Licensing fees are assessed on a per trial/per measure basis for commercial use. There is no fee for use of the English version, but a license should be obtained.
Non-commercial use is assessed on a case-by-case basis. Licensing fees are typically not applied to investigator-initiated research, students, or clinical use.
To license an available version of this measure for commercial or non-commercial use, please complete our registration form. All of the information provided in the form will be kept strictly confidential. For questions, please contact us.
Selected References
Brady M.J., Cella D.F., Mo F., Bonomi A.E., Tulsky D.S., Lloyd S.R., Deasy S., Cobleigh M., Shiomoto G. Reliability and validity of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy – Breast quality-of-life instrument. Journal of Clinical Oncology 1997; 15(3): 974-986.
Bonomi, A.E., Cella, D.D., Hahn, E.A., Bjordal, K., Sperner, B., Gangeri, L., Bergman, B., Willems, J., Hanquet, P., & Zittoun, R. Multilingual translation of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT) quality of life measurement system. Quality of Life Research 1996; 5: 309-320.
Cella D., Land S.R., Chang C.H., Day R., Costantino J.P., Wolmark N., Ganz P.A. Symptom measurement in the Breast Cancer Prevention Trial (BCPT) (P-1): Psychometric properties of a new measure of symptoms for midlife women. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment 2008; 109: 515-526.
Eremenco, S., Arnold, B., Cella, D. A comprehensive method for the translation and cross-cultural validation of health status questionnaires. Evaluation & the Health Professions 2005; 28(2): 212-232.
Eton D.T., Cella D., Yost K.J., Yount S.E., Peterman A.H., Neuberg D.S., Sledge G.W., Wood W.C. A combination of distribution- and anchor-based approaches determined minimally important differences (MIDs) for four endpoints in a breast cancer scale. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology 2004; 57: 898-910.
Hahn, E.A., Holzner, B., Kemmler, G., Sperner-Unterweger, B., Hudgens, S., Cella, D. Cross-cultural evaluation of health status using item response theory: FACT-B comparisons between Austrian and U.S. breast cancer patients. Evaluation & the Health Professions 2005; 28(2): 233-259.
Henderson V.P., Massion A.O., Druker S. The effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction on psychosocial outcomes and quality of life in early-stage breast cancer patients: A randomized trial. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment 2012; 131: 99-109.
Kugbey, N., Meyer-Weitz, A., & Oppong Asante, K. Access to health information, health literacy and health-related quality of life among women living with breast cancer: Depression and anxiety as mediators. Patient Education and Counseling 2019; 102(7): 1357-1363. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2019.02.014.
Kugbey, N., Meyer-Weitz, A., & Oppong Asante, K. Mental adjustment to cancer and quality of life among women living with breast cancer in Ghana. The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine 2019; 54(3): 217-230. doi: : 10.1177/0091217418805087.
Kugbey, N., Oppong Asante, K., & Meyer-Weitz, A. Doctor–patient relationship mediates the effects of shared decision making on health-related quality of life among women living with breast cancer. South African Journal of Psychology 2019; 49(3); 364–375. doi: 10.1177/0081246318801.
Kugbey, N., Oppong Asante, K., & Meyer-Weitz, A. Depression, anxiety and quality of life among women living with breast cancer in Ghana: mediating roles of social support and religiosity. Supportive Care in Cancer 2019; 1-8. doi: 10.1007/s00520-019-05027-1.
Lemieux J., Goodwin P.J., Bordeleau L.J., Lauzier S., Théberge V. Quality-of-life measurement in randomized clinical trials in breast cancer: An updated systematic review (2001-2009). Journal of the National Cancer Institute 2011; 103(3): 178-231.
Pandey M., Thomas B.C., Ramdas K., Eremenco S., Nair M.K. Quality of life in breast cancer patients: Validation of a FACT-B Malayalam version. Quality of Life Research 2002; 11: 87-90.
Thomas R., Godward S., Makris A., Bloomfield D., Moody A.M., Williams M. Giving patients a choice improves quality of life: A multi-centre, investigator-blind, randomized, crossover study comparing Letrozole and Anastrozole. Clinical Oncology 2004; 16: 485-491.
Ursini LA, Nuzzo M, Rosa C, DI Guglielmo FC, DI Tommaso M, Trignani M, Borgia M, Allajbej A, Patani F, DI Carlo C, Porreca A, DI Nicola M, Genovesi D, Caravatta L. Quality of Life in Early Breast Cancer Patients: A Prospective Observational Study Using the FACT-B Questionnaire. In Vivo. 2021 May-Jun;35(3):1821-1828. doi: 10.21873/invivo.12443. PMID: 33910868.
Webster K., Cella D., Yost K. The Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy (FACIT) measurement system: Properties applications, and interpretation. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes 2003; 1(1): 79-85.
Yost K.J., Eton D.T. Combining distribution- and anchor-based approaches to determine minimally important differences: The FACIT experience. Evaluation & the Health Professions 2005; 28(2): 172-191.
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