MDASI Thyroid Cancer Module
The MD Anderson Symptom Inventory for thyroid cancer (MDASI-Thy) is a disease-specific module. Use the MDASI-Thy to assess the severity of symptoms experienced by patients with thyroid cancer and the interference with daily living caused by these symptoms.
Along with the core MDASI’s 13 symptom items and 6 interference items, the MDASI-Thy also assesses 6 symptoms specific to thyroid cancer.
| Core MDASI Symptom Items | Thyroid Cancer Symptom Items | MDASI Interference Items |
|---|---|---|
| Pain | Hoarseness | Relations with other people |
| Fatigue | Problem with feeling hot | Enjoyment of life |
| Nausea | Problem with feeling cold | Mood |
| Disturbed sleep | Problem with racing heartbeat | Walking |
| Distress (feeling upset) | Diarrhea or loose stools | Activity |
| Shortness of breath | Difficulty swallowing | Work (including housework) |
| Difficulty remembering | ||
| Lack of appetite | ||
| Drowsiness | ||
| Dry mouth | ||
| Sadness | ||
| Vomiting | ||
| Numbness/tingling |
MDASI-Thy Features
- Purpose: To assess the severity of multiple thyroid cancer-related symptoms and the impact of these symptoms on daily functioning
- Population: Patients with symptoms caused by thyroid cancer and its treatment
- Assessment areas: Severity of multiple symptoms and the impact of symptoms on daily functioning during the last 24 hours
- Method: Self-report or interview with research staff; paper-and-pencil or electronic data entry
- Time required: Five minutes or less
- Scoring: Please see the MDASI User Guide
- Reliability: Cronbach alpha reliability ranges from 0.76 to 0.92
View the MDASI-Thy (click to enlarge)
MDASI-Thy Language Translations
Don't see a language you need? Contact us at symptomresearch@mdanderson.org.
| Psychometrically and Linguistically Validated | Linguistically Validated |
|---|---|
| English | Arabic* |
| Belarusian | |
| Bengali | |
| Danish | |
| Dutch | |
| French | |
| German | |
| Greek | |
| Gujarati | |
| Hebrew* | |
| Hindi | |
| Hungarian | |
| Italian | |
| Kannada | |
| Korean | |
| Malayalam | |
| Marathi | |
| Polish | |
| Portuguese (Brazil) |
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| Portuguese (Portugal) |
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| Russian | |
| Spanish | |
| Swedish | |
| Tamil | |
| Telugu |
* Arabic and Hebrew versions read right to left.
MDASI User Guide
In response to the for the pharmaceutical industry on the use of patient-reported outcomes measures in medical product development to support labeling claims, we have prepared a MDASI User Guide to document the development and psychometric properties of the MDASI and its modules, including the MDASI-AML/MDS. The User Guide addresses the recommendations in the FDA guidance and establishes the MDASI's adequacy as a measure to support medical product claims.
Request a copy of the MDASI User Guide.
Selected MDASI-Thy References
Validation
Hu ZY, Gou JX, Cai M, Zhang YE. BMC Cancer 2(1):924, 2022
Gning I, Trask PC, Mendoza TR, et al. Oncology 76(1): 59-68, 2009.
Cleeland CS, Mendoza TR, Wang XS, et al. . Cancer 89:1634-1646, 2000.
Clinical Application
Gunn AH, Frisco N, Thomas SM, et al. Thyroid 32(1):54-64, 2022.
Dadu R, Hu MI, Cleeland C, et al. Thyroid 25(10):1085-90, 2015.
Methodology
Uslar V, Becker C, Weyhe D, Tabriz N. Endocrinol Diabetes Metab 5(5):e357, 2022.
Moss L, Cox C, Wadsley J, et al. Eur Thyroid J 10(1):72-78, 2021.
Order the MDASI-Thy
Use our convenient online form to order the MDASI-Thy for use in your clinical research, clinical practice, funded and non-funded academic research, commercial research, or reproduction in educational materials or other publications.
Did You Know?
Electronic data capture offers several benefits:
- Allows symptom monitoring when the patient is away from the hospital
- Is convenient for patients, who can choose web access, personalized patient portals, or smartphones to access questionnaires
- Minimizes missing data, especially in longitudinal studies
- Provides accurate, real-time symptom data at expected time points
- Generates immediate feedback, potentially allowing caregivers to address severe symptoms more effectively
We based the MDASI-Thy on literature review, focus group discussions with patients and experts, and cognitive debriefing of patients who completed the questionnaire. Proper symptom assessment over the course of thyroid cancer has benefits for both clinical care and research.
Ibrahima Gning, Dr.P.H.
Senior Informatics Analyst, MD?Anderson
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