BACKGROUND: Cancer and cancer-related treatments are associated with a constellation of physical and psychological changes. Treatments associated with noncentral nervous system neoplasms can have short- and long-term effects on cognition, affecting quality of life in people with cancer. Clinical measurement tools specific to cancer-related mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are lacking. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) has been validated in a geriatric population and used in studies assessing MCI in persons with cancer, but no studies have yet shown its psychometric properties when used with this population. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to explore the psychometric properties of the MoCA within a population of persons with noncentral nervous system cancer. METHODS: A total of 74 participants were included from persons attending a Cancer Nutrition-Rehabilitation Program at the McGill University Health Centre. Rasch analyses were conducted. RESULTS: The MoCA data fit all the properties of the Rasch model with a person separation index of 1.04 and person reliability of 0.52. The MoCA items were found to measure a unidimensional construct and spanned 6.57 logits, with item difficulty levels between 2.49 and -4.08 logits. However, the MoCA presented a lack of items of higher difficulty, as person cognitive ability levels ranged from -0.51 to 5.17 logits. CONCLUSION: Within the limits of a small sample size, the results of this exploratory study suggest the possibility that the MoCA, when used within a population of persons with cancer, may meet criteria for unidimensionality and adequate item fit but may present weaknesses when used with participants of higher cognitive abilities.
BACKGROUND:Cancer and cancer-related treatments are associated with a constellation of physical and psychological changes. Treatments associated with noncentral nervous system neoplasms can have short- and long-term effects on cognition, affecting quality of life in people with cancer. Clinical measurement tools specific to cancer-related mild cognitive impairment (MCI) are lacking. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) has been validated in a geriatric population and used in studies assessing MCI in persons with cancer, but no studies have yet shown its psychometric properties when used with this population. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to explore the psychometric properties of the MoCA within a population of persons with noncentral nervous system cancer. METHODS: A total of 74 participants were included from persons attending a Cancer Nutrition-Rehabilitation Program at the McGill University Health Centre. Rasch analyses were conducted. RESULTS: The MoCA data fit all the properties of the Rasch model with a person separation index of 1.04 and person reliability of 0.52. The MoCA items were found to measure a unidimensional construct and spanned 6.57 logits, with item difficulty levels between 2.49 and -4.08 logits. However, the MoCA presented a lack of items of higher difficulty, as person cognitive ability levels ranged from -0.51 to 5.17 logits. CONCLUSION: Within the limits of a small sample size, the results of this exploratory study suggest the possibility that the MoCA, when used within a population of persons with cancer, may meet criteria for unidimensionality and adequate item fit but may present weaknesses when used with participants of higher cognitive abilities.
Authors: Tim A Ahles; Andrew J Saykin; Charlotte T Furstenberg; Bernard Cole; Leila A Mott; Karen Skalla; Marie B Whedon; Sarah Bivens; Tara Mitchell; E Robert Greenberg; Peter M Silberfarb Journal: J Clin Oncol Date: 2002-01-15 Impact factor: 44.544
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Authors: A Rahmani; B Morel; M Chartogne; A Leclercq; B Beaune; S Boyas; C Forestier; T Martin; V Thomas-Ollivier; S Landry; H Bourgeois; O Cojocarasu; V Pialoux; O Zanna; L A Messonnier Journal: BMC Cancer Date: 2021-10-23 Impact factor: 4.430
Authors: Alejandro Heredia-Ciuró; Antonio Lazo-Prados; Paula Blasco-Valls; Andrés Calvache-Mateo; Laura Lopez-Lopez; Javier Martin-Nuñez; Marie C Valenza Journal: J Telemed Telecare Date: 2022-02-25 Impact factor: 6.184