Patient-reported outcomes after CAR T-cell therapy in patients with hematological malignancies.

The remarkable improvement in survival among individuals with hematological malignancies receiving chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has highlighted the growing unmet need to incorporate patient-centered assessments in management guidelines for these patients. That CAR T-cell therapy is associated with unique toxicities and relatively high symptom burden in the first few weeks after cell infusion is well known. Magnifying the patient's voice by using patient-reported outcomes (PROs) might support personalized intervention in the acute-care setting, optimize the use of medical resources, improve satisfaction with therapy, and enhance survival benefit.

The Value of Patient-Reported Outcomes to Predict Symptom Burden and Health-Related Quality of Life After Chemoradiation for Cervical Cancer: A Prospective Study.

Purpose: Patients with cervical cancer undergoing chemoradiation have high symptom burden. We performed an analysis of prospectively collected data on patient-reported outcomes to determine characteristics predictive of poor treatment experience.

Methods And Materials: Between 2021 and 2023, we prospectively collected data on patient-reported outcomes from patients with cervical cancer undergoing definitive chemoradiation.

Patient-reported outcome measures in surgical patients with upper gastrointestinal cancers: A qualitative interview study.

Background And Objectives: Patients with pancreatic and gastroesophageal (PGE) cancers experience high symptom burden, but patient experience throughout multimodality treatment remains unclear. We aimed to delineate the experience and symptom burden of patients throughout their perioperative course.

Methods: Qualitative interviews were performed with 17 surgical patients with PGE cancer.

Patient-reported outcomes after oncologic hepatic resection predict the risk of delayed readiness to return to intended oncologic therapy (RIOT).

Background: Optimal surgical recovery is critical to readiness to return to intended oncologic therapy (RIOT). The current study defined the value of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in predicting the risk for delayed RIOT after oncologic hepatic resection.

Methods: In a prospective longitudinal study, perioperative symptoms were assessed using a valid PRO assessment tool, the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory module for hepatectomy perioperative care (MDASI-PeriOp-Hep), for 4 weeks after surgery.

Electronic Patient-Reported Outcome-Based Symptom Management Versus Usual Care After Lung Cancer Surgery: Long-Term Results of a Multicenter, Randomized, Controlled Trial.

JCO We previously reported superior symptom control of electronic patient-reported outcome (ePRO)-based symptom management after lung cancer surgery for up to 1 month postdischarge. Here, we present the long-term results (1-12 months) of this multicenter, randomized trial, where patients were assigned 1:1 to receive postoperative ePRO-based symptom management or usual care daily postsurgery, twice weekly postdischarge until 1 month, and at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months postdischarge. Long-term patient-reported outcomes were assessed with MD Anderson Symptom Inventory-Lung Cancer module.

The impact of scrambler therapy on pain and quality of life for chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy: A pilot study.

Background: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) is a debilitating disturbance among patients who received chemotherapy, with no effective treatment available. Scrambler therapy (ST) is a noninvasive treatment capable of improving multiple quality-of-life symptoms beyond pain. We aimed to evaluate the efficacy of ST for pain and nonpain symptoms related to CIPN.

Are Published Cancer Care Trial Protocols With Traditional Chinese Medicine Interventions Concordant With SPIRIT-TCM Extension 2018? A Scoping Review on Published Trial Protocols Between 2019 and 2022.

Background: The SPIRIT-TCM Extension 2018 was created to guide the design and reporting of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) clinical trial protocols. This study aims to investigate the extent of concordance with this guideline in the relevant field of cancer care research.

Methods: A scoping review of TCM cancer trial protocols published in English and Chinese since January 2019 was conducted.

The Symptom Experience of Patients with Advanced Melanoma Undergoing Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor (ICI) Therapy.

Objectives: The advent of immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy has vastly improved outcomes for patients with advanced melanoma. However, the symptom burden and intensity with their impact on quality-of-life (HRQoL) and functionality are heterogeneous and unpredictable. We used descriptive exploratory content analysis from interviews to capture the patient experience after they had completed quantitative data collection of their symptom burden and interference with the use of two patient-reported outcome (PRO) instruments.

Longitudinal perioperative patient-reported outcomes in open compared with minimally invasive hysterectomy.

Background: There are few prospective studies in the gynecologic surgical literature that compared patient-reported outcomes between open and minimally invasive hysterectomies within enhanced recovery after surgery pathways.

Objective: This study aimed to compare prospectively collected perioperative patient-reported symptom burden and interference measures in open compared with minimally invasive hysterectomy cohorts within enhanced recovery after surgery pathways.

Study Design: We compared patient-reported symptom burden and functional interference in 646 patients who underwent a hysterectomy (254 underwent open surgery and 392 underwent minimally invasive surgery) for benign and malignant indications under enhanced recovery after surgery protocols.

National survey on the availability of oncology palliative care services at tertiary general and cancer hospitals in China.

Background: This nationwide survey studied the level of palliative care (PC) access for Chinese patients with cancer among cancer care providers either in tertiary general hospitals or cancer hospitals in China.

Methods: Using a probability-proportionate-to-size method, we identified local tertiary general hospitals with oncology departments to match cancer hospitals at the same geographic area. A PC program leader or a designee at each hospital reported available PC services, including staffing, inpatient and outpatient services, education, and research, with most questions adapted from a previous national survey on PC.

Trans-pacific multicenter collaborative study of minimally invasive proximal versus total gastrectomy for proximal gastric and gastroesophageal junction cancers.

Background: The current standard operation for proximal gastric and gastroesophageal junction (P/GEJ) cancers with limited esophageal extension is total gastrectomy (TG). TG is associated with impaired appetite and weight loss due to the loss of gastric functions such as production of ghrelin and with anemia due to intrinsic factor loss and vitamin B malabsorption. Theoretically, proximal gastrectomy (PG) can mitigate these problems by preserving gastric function.

Compound Kushen Injection Reduces Severe Toxicity and Symptom Burden Associated With Curative Radiotherapy in Patients With Lung Cancer.

Background: Radiotherapy (RT) causes adverse events for which there are no effective treatments. This study investigated the clinical benefits of compound Kushen injection (CKI) in managing radiation injury in patients with lung cancer.

Methods: A multicenter, open-label, randomized clinical trial randomly assigned patients with lung cancer to receive either CKI (20 mL/d for at least 4 weeks) integrated with curative RT (RT + CKI group; n=130) or RT alone (control group; n=130).

Utility of Patient-Reported Symptom and Functional Outcomes to Indicate Recovery after First 90 Days of Radical Cystectomy: A Longitudinal Study.

This is a longitudinal prospective study that tracked multiple symptom burden and functioning status for bladder cancer (BLC) patients for 3 months post-radical cystectomy at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, using a validated disease-specific patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) tool, the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory (the MDASI-PeriOp-BLC). The feasibility of collecting an objective measure for physical functioning, using "Timed Up & Go test" (TUGT) and PRO scores at baseline, discharge and end of study, was tested. Patients ( = 52) received care under an ERAS pathway.

Development and validation of a patient-reported outcome measure to assess symptom burden after chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy.

This cross-sectional study aimed to develop and validate a patient-reported outcomes (PROs) assessment tool to assess symptom burden and daily functioning in patients after chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI-CAR). The items were generated based on literature review, content elicitation interviews with patients, and clinician's review. The patients completed the MDASI core and module, single-item quality-of-life (QoL) measure and Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System-29 (PROMIS-29).

Recommendations on the use of item libraries for patient-reported outcome measurement in oncology trials: findings from an international, multidisciplinary working group.

The use of item libraries for patient-reported outcome (PRO) measurement in oncology allows for the customisation of PRO assessment to measure key health-related quality of life concepts of relevance to the target population and intervention. However, no high-level recommendations exist to guide users on the design and implementation of these customised PRO measures (item lists) across different PRO measurement systems. To address this issue, a working group was set up, including international stakeholders (academic, independent, industry, health technology assessment, regulatory, and patient advocacy), with the goal of creating recommendations for the use of item libraries in oncology trials.

Patient-reported symptoms at discharge and risk of complications after gynecologic surgery.

Objective: Current gaps in knowledge limit clinicians from fully implementing patient-reported outcomes in routine post-operative care.

Methods: This prospective study assessed symptoms via the gynecologic module of the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI-PeriOp-GYN) in patients who underwent open laparotomy.

Results: At discharge, patient-reported moderate to severe (≥4 on a 0-10 scale) abdominal bloating or abdominal cramping, combined with length of stay of ≥4 days, were found to be associated with a higher risk of 30-day post-operative grade II-IV complications by the Clavien-Dindo system (all p values <0.

Opioid-sparing anesthesia and patient-reported outcomes after open gynecologic surgery: a historical cohort study.

Purpose: Dexmedetomidine and ketamine may be administered intraoperatively as continuous infusions to provide opioid-sparing anesthesia. Recent evidence has yielded controversial results regarding the impact of opioid-free anesthesia on postoperative complications, and there is a gap in knowledge regarding patient-reported outcomes (PROs). This study aimed to determine the impact of opioid-sparing anesthesia and opioid-based anesthesia on PROs among gynecologic patients within an enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) program.

Validation and Application of MD Anderson Symptom Inventory Module for Patients with Bladder Cancer in the Perioperative Setting.

Objectives: We developed and validated a disease-specific tool for perioperative patient-reported outcomes assessment for bladder cancer (BLC) patients undergoing radical cystectomy, The MD Anderson Symptom Inventory (the MDASI-PeriOp-BLC). Methods: Patients who underwent radical cystectomy were recruited. We used qualitative interviews and experts’ input to generate disease/treatment-specific items of the MDASI-PeriOp-BLC module; conducted item reduction; examined the psychometric properties of the resultant items for reliability, validity, and clinical interpretability; and conducted cognitive debriefing interviews to assess the tool’s performance.

Identifying patients who suffered from post-discharge cough after lung cancer surgery.

Purpose: To establish a discharge cutoff point (CP) on a simple patient-reported cough score to identify patients requiring post-discharge cough intervention.

Methods: Data were extracted from a prospective cohort study of patients undergoing lung cancer surgery. Symptoms were assessed using the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory-Lung Cancer Module.

Cancer-Related Fatigue Outcome Measures in Integrative Oncology: Evidence for Practice and Research Recommendations.

Cancer-related fatigue (CRF) is one of the most common symptoms across the cancer continuum and is often underreported and undertreated. Defined as a distressing, persistent, subjective sense of tiredness or exhaustion related to cancer or its treatment, CRF includes physical, emotional, cognitive, and spiritual dimensions. Patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures are the most widely used tool to screen for and assess fatigue and the associated negative impacts on quality of life.

Psychometric validation of the Chinese version of the M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory-Head and Neck Module in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Objective: The Chinese version of the M. D. Anderson Symptom Inventory-Head and Neck Module (MDASI-HN-C) has been linguistically validated.