Assessment tools for patient-reported outcomes in multiple myeloma

Patients with multiple myeloma experience severe symptom burden. Patient participation in self-reporting is essential as medical staff's assessment of patient symptom severity is often lower than patient self-reporting. This article reviews patient-reported outcome (PRO) assessment tools and their application in the field of multiple myeloma.

The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) is the universal patient-reported outcome assessment tool most frequently used to evaluate the life quality in people with multiple myeloma. Among the specific patient-reported outcome assessment tools, the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire-Multiple Myeloma Module (EORTC QLQ-MY20), the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Multiple Myeloma (FACT-MM), and the M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory-Multiple Myeloma Module (MDASI-MM) are the most widely used, with some scholars using the EORTC QLQ-MY20 as a calibration correlate for scale development. Most current assessment instruments were developed using classical measurement theory methods; future researchers could combine classic theory tests and item response theory to create scientific assessment instruments. In addition, researchers select the appropriate assessment tool based on the purpose of the study. They can translate high-quality assessment tools into different languages and consider applying them more often to assessing multiple myeloma patients. Finally, most existing PROs focus on measuring life quality and symptoms in people with multiple myeloma, with less research on outcomes such as adherence and satisfaction, thus failing to comprehensively evaluate the patient treatment and disease management.

Research has shown that the field of PROs in multiple myeloma is in an exploratory phase. There is still a need to enrich the content of PROs and develop more high-quality PRO scales for multiple myeloma based on the strengths and weaknesses of existing tools. With the successful advancement of information technology, PROs for people with multiple myeloma could be integrated with electronic information systems, allowing patients to report their health status in real time and doctors to track their condition and adjust their treatment, thereby improving patient outcomes.