Abstract
Background and aim: The evaluation of patient-reported outcomes (PRO) in cancer has proven relevant positive clinical impact on patients’ communication with healthcare professionals, decision-making for management, well-being, and overall survival. However, the optimal frequency of PRO assessment has yet to be defined. Based on the assumption that more frequent sampling would enhance accuracy, we aimed at identifying the optimal sampling frequency that does not miss clinically relevant insight.
Methods: We used pilot data from 31 advanced cancer patients who completed once daily the 19-item MD Anderson Symptom Inventory at home. The resulting dataset allowed us to compare different PRO assessment frequencies to daily sampling, i.e., alternate days (q2d), every third day (q3d), or once a week (q1w). We evaluated the sampling frequencies for two main outcomes: average symptom intensity and identification of severe symptoms.
Authors: Pasquale F Innominato 1 2 3, Sandra Komarzynski 4, Robert Dallmann 5, Nicholas I Wreglesworth 6 7, Mohamed Bouchahda 8 9 10 11, Abdoulaye Karaboué 8 12, Ayhan Ulusakarya 8 11, Christian P Subbe 7 13, David Spiegel 14 15, Francis A Lévi 5 8 11 16