Current status of quality of life measurement in lung cancer patients

Quality of life in patients with inoperable lung cancer receiving palliative treatment has become an important issue. As in other types of cancer, lack of standardization of quality of life data makes comparison between trials difficult, sometimes even impossible. Much effort is being given to the development of suitable instruments to measure quality of life and strategies to incorporate these measurements into clinical trials. The authors review studies in palliative lung cancer treatment where two crucial questions are being addressed: Do patients improve in performance status and symptom relief and does treatment toxicity outweigh disease palliation?