Quality of life
diarrhoea, nausea/vomiting, fatigue, pain, constipation, insomnia, dyspnoea, Cancer
APPETITE LOSS, CANCER
Quality of life during the trial was evaluated using the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer QoL questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30). The QoL questionnaire was to be completed at baseline, 6 weeks after the start of treatment, and then every 8 weeks during the entire treatment course. The 30-item questionnaire included a global health status/QoL scale, five functional scales (physical, role, emotional, cognitive, and social functioning), three symptom scales (fatigue, nausea/vomiting, pain), and single items assessing additional symptoms (dyspnoea, insomnia, appetite loss, constipation, diarrhoea) and financial difficulties. The results were linearly transformed into a score from 0–100 according to the EORTC scoring manual. For the QoL and functioning scales, a higher score represented a better outcome. For the symptom scales, a high score represented an increased burden of symptoms.