Development and validation of the National Cancer Center Psychological Symptom Inventory

Abstract

Objective: To report the development and validation of the National Cancer Center Psychological Symptom Inventory (NCC-PSI).

Methods: Psychometric properties of the NCC-PSI were examined by using multicenter surveys involving 400 patients with cancer in 5 cancer-treatment hospitals throughout Korea. Related measures including the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview were administered.

Results: Convergent validity was supported by NCC-PSI's significant associations with related measures. Known-group validity was proven with higher scores of helplessness/hopelessness and anxious preoccupation on the Mini-Mental Adjustment to Cancer in the depression and anxiety diagnosis group, defined by the NCC-PSI. Cutoff scores for insomnia, anxiety, and depression were identified. Overall, the screening performance of the NCC-PSI was comparable to that of the distress thermometer and Patient Health Questionnare-2.

Conclusions: The NCC-PSI represents a meaningful effort to develop a distress screening tool that addresses specific psychological symptoms common in cancer, which are tailored to the local oncology care system with varying degrees of psychosocial care resources.

Keywords: anxiety; cancer; depression; distress screening; insomnia; oncology.