Patient-reported outcomes in drug development for hematology

Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are any outcome evaluated directly by the patient himself and based on the patient's perception of a disease and its treatment(s). PROs are direct outcome measures that can be used as clinical meaningful endpoints to characterize treatment benefit. They provide unique and important information about the effect of treatment from a patient's view. However, PROs will only be considered adequate if the assessment is well-defined and reliable. In 2009, the FDA has issued a guidance, which defines good measurement principles to consider for PRO measures intended to give evidence of treatment benefit in drug development. In hematologic clinical trials, when applied rigorously, they may be used to evaluate overall treatment effectiveness, treatment toxicity, and quality of patient's well-being at short-term and long-term after treatment from a patient's perspective. In situations in which multiple treatment options exist with similar survival outcome or if a new therapeutic strategy needs to be evaluated, the inclusion of PROs as an endpoint can provide additional data and help in clinical decision making. Given the diversity of the hematological field, the approach to measurement needs to be tailored for each specific situation. The importance of PROs in hematologic diseases has been highlighted in a number of international recommendations. In addition, new perspectives in the regulatory field will enhance the inclusion of PRO endpoints in clinical trials in hematology, allowing the voice of the patients with hematologic diseases to be taken into greater consideration in the development of new drugs.