MDASI Spine Tumor Module
The MD Anderson Symptom Inventory for spine tumors (MDASI-SP) is a site-specific module. Use the MDASI-SP to assess the severity of symptoms experienced by patients with spine tumors 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-SP also assesses 5 symptoms specific to spine tumors.
| Core MDASI Symptoms | Spine Tumor Symptoms | MDASI Interference |
|---|---|---|
| Pain | Radiating spine pain | Relations with other people |
| Fatigue | Weakness in arms or legs | Enjoyment of life |
| Nausea | Sexual dysfunction | Mood |
| Disturbed sleep | Change in bowel pattern (diarrhea or constipation) | Walking |
| Distress (feeling upset) | Loss of control of bowel and/or bladder | Activity |
| Shortness of breath | Work (including housework) | |
| Difficulty remembering | ||
| Lack of appetite | ||
| Drowsiness | ||
| Dry mouth | ||
| Sadness | ||
| Vomiting | ||
| Numbness/tingling |
Order the MDASI-SP
Use our convenient online form to order the MDASI-SP 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-SP Features
- Purpose: To assess the severity of multiple spine tumor-related symptoms and the impact of these symptoms on daily functioning
- Population: Patients with symptoms caused by spine tumors and their 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 0.71 to 0.95
*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-SP 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. 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-SP References
Validation
Xu N, Li Z, Wei F, et al. A cross-sectional study on the symptom burden of patients with spinal tumor: validation of the Chinese version of the M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory-Spine Tumor Module. J Pain Symptom Manage 53(3):605-613, 2017.
Armstrong TS, Gning I, Mendoza TR, et al. Reliability and validity of the M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory-Spine Tumor Module. J Neurosurg Spine 12(4):421-430, 2010.
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
Rogers JL, Vera E, Acquaye A, et al. Living with a central nervous system (CNS) tumor: findings on long-term survivorship from the NIH Natural History Study. Neurooncol Pract 8(4):460-474, 2021.
Newman WC, Berry-Candelario J, Villavieja J, et al. Improvement in quality of life following surgical resection of benign intradural extramedullary tumors: a prospective evaluation of patient-reported outcomes. Neurosurgery 88(5):989-995, 2021.
Gilbert MR, Yuan Y, Wu J, et al. A phase II study of dose-dense temozolomide and lapatinib for recurrent low-grade and anaplastic supratentorial, infratentorial, and spinal cord ependymoma. Neuro Oncol 23(3):468-477, 2021.
Barzilai O, McLaughlin L, Amato MK, et al. Predictors of quality of life improvement after surgery for metastatic tumors of the spine: prospective cohort study. Spine J 18(7):1109-1115, 2018.
Methodology
Rothrock RJ, Reiner AS, Barzilai O, et al. Responder analysis of pain relief after surgery for the treatment of spinal metastatic tumors. Neurosurgery 91(4):604-617, 2022.
Hussain I, Barzilai O, Reiner AS, et al. Spinal Instability Neoplastic Score component validation using patient-reported outcomes. J Neurosurg Spine 18:1-7, 2019.
Barzilai O, Amato MK, McLaughlin L, et al. Hybrid surgery-radiosurgery therapy for metastatic epidural spinal cord compression: a prospective evaluation using patient-reported outcomes. Neurooncol Pract 5(2):104-113, 2018.
Hussain I, Barzilai O, Reiner AS, et al. Patient-reported outcomes after surgical stabilization of spinal tumors: symptom-based validation of the Spinal Instability Neoplastic Score (SINS) and surgery. Spine J 18(2):261-267, 2018.
Every MDASI module contains:
all 13 MDASI core 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
Cancer patients with central nervous system tumors are a unique group because of the neurological nature of their symptoms, which affect their functional abilities, social interactions and emotional well-being — and thus their quality of life.
Terri S. Armstrong, Ph.D.
Senior Investigator, NCI