LAUSR

INTRODUCTION Health-related quality of life assessment is increasingly important as it can help both clinical research and care for patients, particularly among oncological patients. Quality of Life Questionnaire - OES18 (esophageal module) and Quality of Life Questionnaire - OG25 (esophagogastric module) are the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer modules for the evaluation of quality of life in patients with esophageal and esophagogastric cancers, respectively. The aim of our study was to translate, to culturally adapt and to perform a pilot testing to create the Portuguese version of both questionnaires. MATERIAL AND METHODS The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer guidelines were followed for translation, cultural adaptation and pilot testing of Quality of Life Questionnaire - OES18 (esophageal module) and Quality of Life Questionnaire - OG25 (esophagogastric module). The Quality of Life Questionnaire - OG25 (esophagogastric module) went through a process of forward (English → Portuguese) and backward (Portuguese → English) translation, by independent native speaker translators. After review, a preliminary version was created to be pilot tested among Portuguese patients. As a Brazilian version was already available for Quality of Life Questionnaire - OES18 (esophageal module), the questionnaire was simply culturally adapted and pilot tested. Both cancer and non-cancer patients were included. RESULTS Overall, 30 patients completed the Portuguese version of each questionnaire. Afterwards, a structured interview was conducted to find and report any problematic items. Troublesome items and wording were changed according to the pilot testing results. The final versions were sent to the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Group and approved. CONCLUSION The Portuguese versions of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire - OES18 (esophageal module) and OG25 (esophagogastric module) questionnaires are useful, reliable and valid tools for measuring health-related quality of life in patients with esophageal and esophagogastric cancers, respectively. They can now be used in clinical setting and for scientific purposes.