MDASI Gastrointestinal Cancer Module
The MD Anderson Symptom Inventory for gastrointestinal cancer (MDASI-GI) is a site-specific MDASI module. Use the MDASI-GI to assess the severity of symptoms experienced by patients with gastrointestinal 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-GI also assesses 5 symptoms specific to gastrointestinal cancer.
| Core MDASI Symptoms | GI Cancer Symptoms | MDASI Interference |
|---|---|---|
| Pain | Constipation | Relations with other people |
| Fatigue | Diarrhea or watery stools | Enjoyment of life |
| Nausea | Difficulty swallowing | Mood |
| Disturbed sleep | Change in taste | Walking |
| Distress (feeling upset) | Feeling bloated | Activity |
| Shortness of breath | Work (including housework) | |
| Difficulty remembering | ||
| Lack of appetite | ||
| Drowsiness | ||
| Dry mouth | ||
| Sadness | ||
| Vomiting | ||
| Numbness/tingling |
Order the MDASI-GI
MDASI-GI Features
- Purpose: To assess the severity of multiple gastrointestinal cancer-related symptoms and the impact of these symptoms on daily functioning
- Population: Patients with symptoms caused by gastrointestinal 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: Cronbach alpha reliability ranges from 0.80 to 0.87
*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-GI 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 |
|---|---|
| Chinese (Simplified) |
Danish |
| English | French |
| Japanese | |
| Korean | |
| Spanish |
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. 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-GI References
Validation
Wang XS, Williams LA, Eng C, et al. Validation and application of a module of the M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory for measuring multiple symptoms in patients with gastrointestinal cancer (the MDASI-GI). Cancer 116(8): 2053-2063, 2010.
Chen RW, Yang SL, Xu ZY, et al. Validation and application of the Chinese version of the M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory gastrointestinal cancer module (MDASI-GI-C). J Pain Symptom Manage 57(4):820-827, 2019.
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
Cui C, Wang L, Wang X. Effects of physical and psychological symptoms on cancer-related fatigue among esophageal cancer patients. BMC Cancer 24(1):398, 2024.
Bertocchi E, Meoli F, Masini G, et al. Early quality of life assessment after segmental colorectal resection for deep infiltrating endometriosis. J Minim Invasive Gynecol 31(3):221-226, 2024.
Zhang Y, Zhu M, Wu X, et al. Factors associated with returning to work and work ability of colorectal cancer survivors. Support Care Cancer 30(3):2349-2357, 2022.
Kamal M, Wang XS, Shi Q, et al. A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study of minocycline for reducing the symptom burden experienced by patients with advanced pancreatic cancer. J Pain Symptom Manage 59(5):1052-1058.e1, 2020.
Maharaj AD, Samoborec S, Evans SM, et al. Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) in pancreatic cancer: a systematic review. HPB (Oxford) 22(2):187-203, 2020.
Lillemoe HA, Marcus RK, Kim BJ, et al. Severe preoperative symptoms delay readiness to return to intended oncologic therapy (RIOT) after liver resection. Ann Surg Oncol 26(13):4548-4555, 2019.
Xu L, Wang S, Zhuang L, et al. Jian Pi Li Qi decoction alleviated postembolization syndrome following transcatheter arterial chemoembolization for hepatocellular carcinoma: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Integr Cancer Ther 15(3):349-357, 2016.
Methodology
Shang B, Bian Z, Luo C, et al. Exploring the dynamics of perioperative symptom networks in colorectal cancer patients: a cross-lagged panel network analysis. Support Care Cancer 32(1):62, 2023.
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
The MDASI-GI measures symptom prevalence and symptom burden in patients with gastrointestinal cancer. It is useful for clinical evaluation of these patients and documents the effects of various treatments on patient symptom burden.
Xin Shelley Wang, M.D., M.P.H.
Professor, Symptom Research