Patient-reported outcomes in ovarian cancer: are they key factors for decision making?

Patient-reported outcomes (PROs), including quality-of-life considerations, are increasingly becoming key factors in clinical decision making. Areas covered: This review provides an overview of the current status of PROs in guiding clinical trial design and clinical decision making in patients with ovarian cancer and previews the future potential of PROs in these settings. Expert commentary: In ovarian cancer, considerable discord exists between patients and physicians regarding perceived symptom burden. During maintenance therapy, it is important that the most appropriate PROs (i.e. endpoints and respective measuring tools) are selected to evaluate patients. Research continues into identifying PROs most likely to facilitate and enhance reporting of symptoms, adverse events, and subjective benefit. Some recent studies performed in ovarian cancer, such as the SOLO2/ENGOT-Ov21 and AURELIA trials, have reported valuable PRO data pertaining to the Trial Outcome Index (TOI) score, quality-adjusted progression-free survival (QAPFS), and time without symptoms and toxicity (TWiST). In future, PROs are likely to become increasingly important in clinical trial design, regulatory procedures, and provision of valuable prognostic information to patients and physicians in clinical practice.