MDASI Breast Cancer Module
The MD Anderson Symptom Inventory for breast cancer (MDASI-Breast) is a site-specific MDASI module. Use the MDASI-Breast to assess the severity of symptoms experienced by patients with breast 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-Breast also assesses 8 symptoms relevant to breast cancer.
| Core MDASI Symptoms | Breast Cancer Symptoms | MDASI Interference |
|---|---|---|
| Pain | Hot flashes | Relations with other people |
| Fatigue | Breast changes | Enjoyment of life |
| Nausea | Constipation | Mood |
| Disturbed sleep | Arm swelling | Walking |
| Distress (feeling upset) | Skin changes | Activity |
| Shortness of breath | Decrease in sexual interest or activity | Work (including housework) |
| Difficulty remembering | Fingernail or toenail changes |
|
| Lack of appetite | Vaginal dryness | |
| Drowsiness | ||
| Dry mouth | ||
| Sadness | ||
| Vomiting | ||
| Numbness/tingling |
Order the MDASI-Breast
Use our convenient online form to order the MDASI-Breast for use in your clinical research, clinical practice, funded and non-funded academic research, commercial research, or reproduction in educational materials or other publications.
MDASI-Breast Features
- Purpose: To assess the severity of multiple symptoms related to breast cancer and the impact of these symptoms on daily functioning
- Population: Patients with symptoms caused by breast 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: Psychometric validation is ongoing
*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
MDASI-Breast Language Versions
Click on a linked language to view a sample in PDF format.
Don't see a language you need? Contact us at symptomresearch@mdanderson.org.
| Psychometrically and Linguistically Validated | Linguistically Validated |
|---|---|
| English |
MDASI User Guide
In response to the US Food and Drug Administration's 2009 guidance 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-HN. The User Guide addresses the recommendations in the FDA guidance and establishes the MDASI's adequacy as a measure to support medical product claims.
Selected MDASI-Breast References
Validation
Whisenant MS, Strunk FA, Tripathy D, Williams LA. Support Care Cancer 27(12):4639-4647, 2019.
Mendoza TR, Zhao F, Cleeland CS, et al. Clin Breast Cancer 13(5):325-334, 2013.
Cleeland CS, Mendoza TR, Wang XS, et al. Cancer 89:1634-1646, 2000.
Clinical Application
Wang YF, He RJ, Yuan XJ, et al. Technol Health Care 31(4):1365-1373, 2023.
Choi JI, Jung S, Oh GH, et al. Psychiatry Investig 19(11):949-957, 2022.
Jacobs W, Schagen SB, Brouwer SM, et al. Clin Breast Cancer 22(5):439-454, 2022.
Cleeland CS, Mayer M, Dreyer NA, et al. Breast 23(6):763-769, 2014.
Methodology
Cleeland CS, Zhao F, Chang VT, et al. Cancer 119(24):4333-4340, 2013.
Every MDASI module contains:
all 13 core MDASI symptoms...
pain, fatigue, nausea, disturbed sleep, distress, shortness of breath, difficulty remembering, lack of appetite, drowsiness, dry mouth, sadness, vomiting, numbness/tingling
...and all 6 MDASI interference items
general activity, mood, work, relations with others, walking, enjoyment of life