Cancer symptom scale preferences: does one size fit all?

Area of Science:

• Palliative Care
• Oncology
• Symptom Management

Background:

• Systematic symptom assessment in advanced cancer is crucial but challenging due to low completion rates of some instruments (<50%).
• Various scales exist for quantifying cancer symptoms, including the Categorical Response Scale (CRS), Numerical Rating Scale (NRS), and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS).

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine patient preferences for CRS, NRS, and VAS in symptom assessment.
• To evaluate the clinical utility of these scales for three common cancer symptoms: pain, tiredness, and appetite loss.

Main Methods:

• A prospective survey was conducted with 100 inpatients admitted to a palliative care unit.
• Patient preferences for CRS, NRS, and VAS were recorded, alongside observer-determined ease of scale completion.

Main Results:

• Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was the least preferred measure among patients.
• 52% of patients preferred the same scale for all three symptoms, and 44% for two symptoms.
• Patients preferred CRS for appetite loss (48%) and tiredness (40%), and NRS for pain (44%). Moderate agreement was found between patient preference and ease of completion.

Conclusions:

• The Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) should be used cautiously in advanced cancer patients.
• Most patients demonstrated consistent scale preferences across symptoms.
• Individualized cancer symptom assessment, considering patient preferences for CRS and NRS, is recommended.