Quality of life in Slovenian patients with skull base tumoursVozel, Domen (Avtor) Urbančič, Jure (Avtor) Battelino, Saba (Avtor) Božanić Urbančič, Nina (Avtor) Steiner, Nejc (Avtor) Felbabić, Tomislav (Avtor) Bošnjak, Roman (Avtor) quality of lifeskull baseneoplasmsmeningiomacarcinomaBackground: Skull base tumours frequently manifest as severe physical morbidity and quality of life (QoL) impairment. The disease-related QoL measurement can be performed with disease specific questionnaires, e.g. Skull base inventory (SBI). Patients and methods: The study consisted of two parts: (1) cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric testing of the Slovenian SBI (SBI-SLO) and (2) QoL assessment in skull base tumours. Two groups completed the SBI-SLO: 1.) adult patients without prior treatment of anterior, anterolateral and/or central skull base and 2.) healthy controls. Patients with skull-base tumours were further analysed for difference in SBI-SLO total score and domain scores between 1.) benign and malignant tumours and 2.) pituitary macroadenomas and other benign tumours. Results: 59 patients (46% male, 54% female, median age 57.7 years) and 47 subjects from control group (49% male, 51% female, median age 42,2 years) completed SBI-SLO, which demonstrated an excellent level of internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.924) and excellent test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICCA] = 0.952). The discriminant validity was confirmed (p = 0.000). SBI-SLO total score, emotional, other and family domain scores were lower in malignant than in benign tumours (p = 0.031, p = 0.038, p = 0.008, and p = 0.046, respectively). Macroadenoma and other benign tumours differed only in neurological domain score (p < 0.05). Conclusions: A skull base tumour, especially malignant, can exert a substantial detrimental effect on a patient's quality of life. The SBI is a key tool for assessing QoL, also available in Slovenian.20262026-04-24 14:49:42Neznano29218UDK: 616-006ISSN pri članku: 1581-3207DOI: 10.2478/raon-2026-0007COBISS_ID: 266450435sl