Mapping of head and neck cancer patient concerns inventory scores on to Euroqol-Five Dimensions-Five Levels (EQ-5D-5L) health utility scores

Background: The purpose of this paper is to map the number of concerns on the dimensions in Head and Neck Patient Concerns Inventory (PCI) on to the health utility (HU) index scores on Euroqol-Five Dimensions-Five levels {EQ-5D-5L) .

Methods: This is a cross-sectional survey conducted in patients who have completed their treatment. Four candidate models were considered, three based on ordinary least squares regression (OLS) and one two-parts model.

Results: A reduced OLS model based on 'Physical and functional', 'Treatment-related', and 'Psychological, emotional and spiritual well-being' domains was found best on the estimation sample. This was validated externally on a separate sample.

Conclusions: This is the first study that mapped a non-QOL tool to generate HU scores on EQ-5D-5L. The proposed mapping algorithm can estimate the cost-utility in economic evaluation studies when HU scores are not directly available. The algorithm will be best suited for studies in low-middle income countries.