Improved functional assessment in cancer patients using home-based digital technologies

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Digital Health
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Accurate performance status (PS) assessment is vital in oncology for clinical decisions and toxicity risk prediction.
• Traditional in-clinic assessments of physical function may not fully capture daily living activities.
• Digital health technologies (DHTs) offer potential for continuous, real-world patient monitoring.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the association between at-home physical activity and gait metrics from DHTs and self-reported PS in cancer patients.
• To compare the discriminatory power of DHT-derived metrics with traditional in-clinic measures.
• To assess the correlation of DHT metrics with patient-reported outcomes and device acceptability.

Main Methods:

• Participants with cancer used DHTs to collect at-home physical activity and gait data.
• Self-reported PS and patient-reported outcomes were collected.
• In-clinic physical function measures were also assessed for comparison.

Main Results:

• At-home physical activity and gait metrics from DHTs were significantly associated with self-reported PS.
• DHT-derived metrics demonstrated greater discriminatory power than in-clinic measures.
• DHT metrics correlated significantly with patient-reported outcomes and were broadly acceptable.

Conclusions:

• Integrating DHTs into oncology practice can refine PS measurement for improved clinical decision-making.
• DHTs provide objective, real-world data that complements traditional assessments.
• This approach has the potential to enhance treatment selection and clinical outcomes in cancer care.