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. What symptoms are important to patients? Developing a symptom burden measure for women with breast cancer. Support Care Cancer 27(12):4639-4647, 2019.
Mendoza TR, Zhao F, Cleeland CS, et al. The validity and utility of the M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory in patients with breast cancer: evidence from the symptom outcomes and practice patterns data from the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group. Clin Breast Cancer 13(5):325-334, 2013.
Cleeland CS, Mendoza TR, Wang XS, et al. Assessing symptom distress in cancer: the M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory. Cancer 89:1634-1646, 2000.
Clinical Application
Wang YF, He RJ, Yuan XJ, et al. Dynamic changes and correlation between symptoms and quality of life in patients with breast cancer during chemotherapy. Technol Health Care 31(4):1365-1373, 2023.
Choi JI, Jung S, Oh GH, et al. The effect of temperament on the association between pre-treatment anxiety and chemotherapy-related symptoms in patients with breast cancer. Psychiatry Investig 19(11):949-957, 2022.
Jacobs W, Schagen SB, Brouwer SM, et al. The effects of being informed about chemotherapy-related cognitive symptoms with and without self-affirmation on perceived cognitive symptoms of breast cancer patients: a randomized prospective, longitudinal study. Clin Breast Cancer 22(5):439-454, 2022.
Cleeland CS, Mayer M, Dreyer NA, et al. Impact of symptom burden on work-related abilities in patients with locally recurrent or metastatic breast cancer: results from a substudy of the VIRGO observational cohort study. Breast 23(6):763-769, 2014.
Methodology
Cleeland CS, Zhao F, Chang VT, et al. The symptom burden of cancer: evidence for a core set of cancer-related and treatment-related symptoms from the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Symptom Outcomes and Practice Patterns study. 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
Patients with breast cancer experience significant tumor- and treatment-related symptom burden. Using a validated patient-reported outcomes symptom measure, such as the MDASI-Breast, can help clinicians systematically monitor and manage symptoms.
Meagan Whisenant, Ph.D., R.N.
Assistant Professor, Behavioral Science