When patients provide information about how they are doing, including symptoms, functionality, and quality of life, scientists can use this data, called patient-reported outcomes (PROs), to conduct research. Many studies rely on PROs to assess patients, particularly after a treatment or intervention. Still, the association between PROs and prognosis remains unclear.
To clarify a potential relationship between PROs and overall survival (OS), a team of researchers conducted a systematic review of randomized clinical trials reporting PROs. A systematic review includes an extensive search through published, peer-reviewed clinical trials.
Then, they conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis to assess potential links between PROs and OS. A meta-analysis is a type of study that encompasses data from various published studies looking at similar types of data. The results of this meta-analysis, recently published in JAMA Oncology, show an underappreciated value of PROs.
The literature review identified randomized clinical trials that enrolled adults with cancer. All studies selected had published on at least one PRO measure at baseline and reported OS outcomes among participants.
The 69 trials included 44,030 patients, and the current study used data from 31 of these trials in the meta-analysis. The analysis revealed a significant association between quality of life and OS. Further, physical functioning and role functioning also correlated with a longer lifespan.
The analysis also linked the onset of symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, fatigue, and pain, with poorer OS. The overall effect of symptoms also predicted a slightly higher mortality rate.
The study suggests that PROs can help predict long-term outcomes like OS in cancer patients. Since most clinical trials can easily incorporate PRO assessments, this offers a cost-effective way to gather valuable data that can inform treatment and follow-up strategies. With advances in technology, new and efficient strategies for collecting PROs, for example through an online survey, also continue to make data easier to work with and more assessable. Additionally, those studies already including PRO measurements, may benefit from additional analysis of the accompanying data.
Sources: JAMA Oncology
