Quality of life utility-Core 10 dimensions (QLU-C10D) scores based on cancer patients’ health preferences are more sensitive than those based on general public’s health preferences

Journal article

Objective
This study aimed to develop a value set for the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Utility-Core 10 Dimensions (QLU-C10D) based on the preferences of Chinese cancer patients, and to compare results with the Chinese general population value set.
Methods
Patients with mixed cancer diagnoses were recruited from two hospitals in China between September and November 2024. Patients completed the EORTC Core Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ-C30) followed by a discrete choice experiment (DCE) valuation survey consisting of 16 choice sets through face-to-face interviews. A conditional logit model was applied to analyze patient preferences. The characteristics and sensitivity of the derived QLU-C10D value set were compared with those of the Chinese general population QLU-C10D value set. Sensitivity was evaluated by ability to discriminate cancer stage and performance status, and effect sizes (ES) were estimated.
Results
Data from 659 cancer patients were analyzed. The cancer patients’ value set showed a broader utility range (-0.092 to 1.0) compared to the general population’s value set (0.083 to 1). The mean utility score for the cancer patient sample (0.656) was significantly lower than that for the general population (0.738, P < 0.01). Both value sets demonstrated good sensitivity, but the cancer patients’ value set was more effective in distinguishing clinical subgroup differences (ES = 2.76–4.46 vs. ES = 2.47–3.48).
Conclusion
Differences in value sets between cancer patients and the general population underscore the importance of more comprehensively integrating patient perspectives into existing evaluation frameworks.

Authors: Cao, Y; Li, H; Jin, X; King, MT; Norman, R

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Springer
• Journal: European Journal of Health Economics
• Place of publication: Germany
• Publication date: 2025-11-10
• Acceptance date: 2025-09-02
• DOI: 10.1007/s10198-025-01848-6
• EISSN: 1618-7601
• ISSN: 1618-7598
• Pmid: 41212433
• Language: English
• Keywords: value set; cancer patients; general population; QLU-C10D; China