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. 2025 Sep;36(5):506-517.
doi: 10.1177/10436596251345338. Epub 2025 Jun 28.

Cross-Cultural Adaptation of the Breast Cancer and Lymphedema Symptom Experience Index in Bengali

Vincent Singh Paramanandam  1   2 , Elizabeth Dylke  2 , Mei R Fu  3 , Anuradha Daptardar  4 , Manali Kamat  4 , Sarika Mahajan  4 , Sharon Kilbreath  2
Affiliations

Cross-Cultural Adaptation of the Breast Cancer and Lymphedema Symptom Experience Index in Bengali

Vincent Singh Paramanandam et al. J Transcult Nurs. 2025 Sep.

Abstract

Introduction: Breast cancer-related lymphedema is associated with a myriad of distressing symptoms and significantly impacts survivors' quality of life. The Breast Cancer-related Lymphedema Symptom Experience Index (BCLE-SEI) is a validated patient-reported outcome measure (PROM), but is unavailable in Indian languages. This study aimed to cross-culturally adapt the BCLE-SEI into the Bengali language.

Method: Following established guidelines, the BCLE-SEI was translated, back-translated, and validated in 168 Bengali-speaking women with or at risk of lymphedema.

Results: Content validity was confirmed by ≥98% of participants. Exploratory factor analysis identified two factors in symptom occurrence and distress subscales, explaining 43.9% and 51% of the variance, respectively. Internal consistency (α) was >0.85, and construct validity was supported with over 50% of predefined hypotheses met. Test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC2,1]) was .46 (95% confidence interval [CI] = [-0.2, 0.8], p = .076).

Discussion: The BCLE-SEI-Bengali is a reliable and valid PROM for assessing lymphedema-related symptoms for Bengali-speaking women.

Keywords: Breast Cancer–related Lymphedema and Symptom Experience Index (BCLE-SEI); breast cancer; lymphedema; patient-reported outcome measures (PROM); symptoms.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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