Implementing a Method for Evaluating Patient-Reported Outcomes Associated With Oral Oncolytic Therapy

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Patient-Reported Outcomes
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Value-based healthcare models emphasize improved quality of care for chronic diseases, including cancer.
• Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are increasingly used to evaluate quality of life.
• The revised Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS-r) is a validated tool for assessing PROs in cancer patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess symptom burden in patients receiving oral oncolytics using the ESAS-r.
• To evaluate the feasibility of implementing standardized PRO assessment in oncology practices.

Main Methods:

• Eight Michigan oncology practices utilized a modified ESAS-r.
• Symptom burden was evaluated before outpatient visits for patients on oral oncolytics.
• Thirteen symptoms were categorized as mild, moderate, or severe.

Main Results:

• 1,235 modified ESAS-r surveys were analyzed.
• 82.5% of reported symptoms were mild.
• 11.9% of symptoms were moderate, and 5.6% were severe.

Conclusions:

• Standardized PRO assessment with tools like ESAS-r is valuable for oncology patients on oral therapies.
• Implementation in community and academic settings is feasible.
• This approach can potentially enhance the quality of care provided.