Five Articles on Patient Reported Outcomes (PROs) and Oncology
- Colin Pfeiffer
- Jul 31, 2020
- 2 min read
The Role of Patient-Reported Outcomes in Outpatients Receiving Active Anti-Cancer Treatment: Impact on Patients' Quality of Life
Summary: 211 outpatient anti-cancer treatment recipients received either usual care or an intervention involving PROs. Upon visiting the clinic, control patients went about a normal routine, while intervention patients electronically completed a questionnaire evaluating symptoms experienced during therapy. After 1 month of treatment, quality of life changes from baseline were an average of +2.54 in the intervention group and -1.68 in control (p = 0.004). In addition, 32.6% of PRO intervention patients had a clinically significant increase in quality of life, compared to 19.3% of the control group (p = 0.04). Measuring Patient-
Reported Outcomes to Improve Cancer Care in Canada: An Analysis of Provincial Survey Data
Summary: 8 of 10 Canadian provinces currently utilize the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System–revised (ESAR-r) for assessing patients’ symptoms during cancer treatment. An analysis of data from Oct. 2016- Mar. 2017 showed 88.0% of patients reported stress during treatment. Of these 88%, 75.1% reported fatigue, 56.2% reported anxiety, and 50.0% reported pain. Between 15-34% described these symptoms as moderate-to-severe. The authors note that gaps in evidence exist, such as a lack of implementation of ESAR-r in British Columbia, New Brunswick, and the territories.
Patient-Reported Outcomes After Monitoring, Surgery, or Radiotherapy for Prostate Cancer
Summary: Researchers compared patient-reported responses of 1643 men in a clinical cancer trial at diagnosis, 6 months of treatment, 12 months of treatment, and yearly afterwards. Patients received either monitoring, radiation or surgical interventions. Most response rates were over 85% and did not decline over time. Prostatectomy had the worst outcomes for urinary incontinence at all time points (p < 0.001). Sexual dysfunction was seen in all groups and increased over time. All intervention types saw similar responses concerning health-related quality of life.
Patient reported late effects of gynecological cancer treatment
Summary: Gynecological cancer survivors in the University of Pennsylvania’s OncoLink database were targeted for late side effect assessments. Late side effects generally occur 6+ months after treatment completion. 390 women responded to a survey questionnaire. Cognitive changes, sexual dysfunction, changes in bowel patterns, peripheral neuropathy, and skin changes were the most common reports across all patients. The authors found the incidence of late side effects in both cervical and uterine cancer patients was higher than previously research indicated.
Key Issues Affecting Quality of Life and Patient-Reported Outcomes in Prostate Cancer: An Analysis Conducted in 2128 Patients with Initial Psychometric Assessment of the Prostate Cancer Symptom Scale (PCSS)
Summary: Questionnaires were sent to 2128 prostate cancer patients. The patients then self-evaluated 18 components of quality-of-life. 81% were considered early-stage and received the survey within 2 years of diagnosis. 88.0% of patients marked the following issues as “important” or “very important”: overall QL, ability to perform normal activities, maintaining independence, ability to sleep and not being a burden. None of the most highly ranked issues were clinical symptoms.
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