Shared Meaning: Deriving MDASI Thresholds Against EORTC Symptom Ratings

Authors

• Ulysses Joseph Hill, Dartmouth CollegeFollow
• Oliver Nkuku BS, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
• MD Mahin PhD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
• Cem Dede MS, MD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
• Clifton D. Fuller MD, PhD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
• Amy Moreno MD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

Files

DOI

https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.33080885

Description

The gap between the MDASI (0-10 severity scoring) used at MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) and the EORTC(1-4 presence scoring) used in the CITOR framework is easily apparent. In 2025, a conversion between the two was done as part of a larger study in a population of head and neck cancer patients at the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG). The study compared several symptoms on the EORTC QLQ-C30/H&N35 (EHN) with the 0-10 score for the symptom given by a patient on the MDASI Head and Neck (MHN). The question remained: would these results hold in an MDACC population? In this project, 97 MDACC patients were given both the MHN and EHN, and the results were compared to determine a threshold for conversion between the two tests. Overall, a clear downward shift was discovered, indicating the need for more research due to the overall lower Youden’s Js or a true difference between the populations' thresholds. Value and Impact Borrowing one population's thresholds may under-detect symptoms in another. Cut-offs should be validated per population before being reused across sites in prediction models.

Program Affiliation

UPWARDS Summer Program

Recommended Citation

Hill, Ulysses Joseph; Nkuku, Oliver BS; Mahin, MD PhD; Dede, Cem MS, MD; Fuller, Clifton D. MD, PhD; and Moreno, Amy MD, "Shared Meaning: Deriving MDASI Thresholds Against EORTC Symptom Ratings" (2026). CATALYST Summer Training Program 2026. 4.
doi:https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.33080885