Key Takeaways
-
Recent research highlights the untapped potential in leveraging PROs in oncology research
-
Researchers can use PROs to identify treatments that provide the best outcomes and the best quality of life
-
A user-friendly platform removes barriers to encourage patient participation and generates relevant and timely data the can be used to enhance patient care
Patient-reported outcomes, or PROs, offer significant untapped potential to improve cancer treatments, according to recent research published in The Lancet’s eClinicalMedicine. The study, a scoping review of 40 clinical trials including 27,000 participants, examined PRO use for patients undergoing genitourinary cancer treatment.
Researchers found that while healthcare teams often aspire to implement PRO collection, many struggle to achieve this goal. Only 67% of studies they reviewed used PRO measures, despite 77% setting out to use them at the start.
Moreover, none of the trials met the PRO use requirements from Setting International Standards in Analyzing Patient-Reported Outcomes and Quality of Life Endpoints (SISAQOL), an international consortium that guides the most effective use of PROs in cancer research.
This gap reveals substantial potential for better understanding of the patient experience in oncology research through PROs.
The value of PROs in oncology
Patient-reported outcomes can provide insights into quality of life and symptom burden that traditional metrics miss. Conventional metrics such as complication rates and mortality rates, do not effectively capture the patient experience.
For instance, one cancer survivor may have a smooth treatment course, while another battles intractable nausea (putting care plan adherence and potentially, the overall outcome, at risk).
While patients may have the same clinical outcome, their experiences may be dramatically different. Patient-reported outcomes can help researchers understand these differences when evaluating therapeutic protocols.
Research value
In order for a clinical trial to be comprehensive in its findings, it is critical to account for the patient experience. Researchers can use PROs to determine which treatment protocols enhance quality of life while maintaining effectiveness. Research including PROs can inform clinical practice guidelines and influence treatment decisions for years to come.
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) recommends that researchers and clinicians use PROs to guide cancer treatments. According to the NCCN, patient-generated data can improve satisfaction and quality of life, and potentially improve survival rates.
How to maximize the potential of PROS for cancer research
Despite the clear benefits of integrating PROs into clinical trials, barriers still prevent researchers from fully utilizing their potential.
Some potential barriers include:
-
Labor-intensive manual data collection processes
-
Time-consuming and duplicative surveys that decrease patient engagement
-
Difficulty tracking and maintaining engagement with participating sites
-
Cumbersome data analysis process limiting tangible results
Meet ResearchPRO
When it comes to conducting cancer research, a user-friendly data platform can make self-reporting of PROs easy and encourage patient participation. From the patient perspective, PatientIQ’s ResearchPRO enables frictionless data collection including text message alerts with clickable links, simple logins, multi-device compatibility, and reminders to enhance engagement. And, from the side of the researcher, ResearchPRO extends the capabilities of research teams by automating data collection, input, and analysis. Learn more about the value of ResearchPRO, here.
Putting it into practice
The value of leveraging PROs to advance cancer care is extensive. By incorporating PROs in cancer research, the patient voice can have a direct impact on clinical practice guidelines that, ultimately, will impact future patient experiences and outcomes.
To leverage PROs in cancer research effectively, it is also imperative to consider the right tools. By leveraging a solution such as ResearchPRO, researchers can automate data collection processes, encourage greater patient participation, and gain actionable analytical insights that will help refine and improve future cancer treatments.
To learn more about how PROs can enhance cancer care, read our fact sheet.
