Development of the Korean Version of the Body Constitution Questionnaire for Use in Cancer Patients

Objective: This study aimed to develop a Korean version of the Body Constitution Questionnaire (BCQ) and evaluate its linguistic and cultural appropriateness for use in cancer patients.Methods: Following the TRAPD guidelines (translation, review, adjudication, pretesting, and documentation), the English BCQ was translated into Korean through a multistep process involving independent forward translation, synthesis, back-translation, expert panel review, and cognitive debriefing interviews with 20 cancer patients. The BCQ consists of 54 items representing three traditional constitution types: Yang-Xu (陽虛) deficiency, Yin-Xu (陰虛) deficiency, and Stasis (瘀滯).Results: Considering the clinical relevance and conceptual clarity of the original BCQ, a Korean version of the questionnaire was developed to assess the three major constitution types. Key terms were modified to reflect patient-friendly expressions and clinical relevance. Frequency descriptors on a five-point Likert scale were standardized for consistent interpretation. The final Korean version incorporated expert consensus and patient feedback, resulting in improved comprehensibility and conceptual equivalence with the original tool.Conclusion: The Korean version of the BCQ is a culturally adapted and linguistically validated tool suitable for assessing constitutional types in cancer patients. It provides a structured and reproducible method for syndrome differentiation and may serve as a reliable foundation for future clinical applications and integrative medicine research.