Feasibility of assessing utilities with a single-item standard gamble questionnaire in patients with melanoma

OBJECTIVES: To determine the feasibility of eliciting utilities with a standard gamble self-completion questionnaire that uses a single-item approach in melanoma patients.

METHODS: 150 patients with low-risk melanoma completed a paper standard gamble questionnaire. Six scenarios described the adjuvant treatment of high-risk melanoma with interferon alfa-2b with varied side effects. Patients were asked to directly state the maximum death risk they would accept to prevent these health states. Methods were the same as in a study by Kilbridge et al. (J Clin Oncol 19(3):812-823, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.2001.19.3.812 ), except that they used computerised interviews and an iterative risk variation (Ping-Pong method) to elicit utilities.

RESULTS: The rate of missing values in the standard gamble was 1.0%. The percentage of patients who misordered scenarios was very similar to the reference study (11.3% vs. 11.2%). Mean utilities were also similar with a maximum difference of 0.02 points, but median utilities were not (between 0.21 points below and 0.05 points above the reference study).

CONCLUSIONS: One-item utility elicitation with questionnaires might be a feasible alternative to computerised face-to-face interviews to conduct a standard gamble in melanoma patients.