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Table 1 Verbal descriptors of side effects risks and their corresponding numerical probabilities as recommended by the European Commission [22]

From: Communicating tailored risk information of cancer treatment side effects: Only words or also numbers?

Verbal descriptor

Corresponding numerical frequency interval

Very common

May affect more than 1 in 10 people (≥ 1/10)

Common

May affect up to 1 in 10 people (≥ 1/100 to < 1/10)

Uncommon

May affect up to 1 in 100 people (≥ 1/1000 to < 1/100)

Rare

May affect up to 1 in 1,000 people (≥ 1/10,000 to < 1/1000)

Very rare

May affect up to 1 in 10,000 people (< 1/10,000)

Not known

Frequency cannot be estimated from the available data