Colleen A Cuthbert1, Devon J Boyne2, Xu Yuan2,3, Brenda R Hemmelgarn4,5, Winson Y Cheung3,6. 1. Faculty of Nursing, University of Calgary, PF 2294, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada. cacuthbe@ucalgary.ca. 2. Cumming School of Medicine, Department of Community Health Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada. 3. Cumming School of Medicine, Department of Oncology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada. 4. Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. 5. Alberta Health Services , Edmonton, Canada. 6. Alberta Health Services, CancerControl, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Abstract
PURPOSE: Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are used to assess patients' symptoms and supportive care needs. While PROs are increasingly employed in clinical practice, research utilizing these data remains limited. Our goal was to evaluate PROs from a provincial cancer program. METHODS: A retrospective, population-based cohort study using administrative health data of patients in Alberta, Canada, diagnosed with cancer between January 1, 2016, and October 23, 2017. Adults who completed PROs (Edmonton Symptom Assessment System, ESAS) and supportive care needs inventory (Canadian Problem Checklist)) within ± 60 days of diagnosis were included. Patients were stratified by tumor types (breast, colorectal, lung, prostate, hematological, or other). Descriptive statistics were used to characterize symptom burden and supportive care needs. Multivariate logistic regression was used to evaluate factors associated with higher symptom severity. RESULTS: We included 1310 patients (mean age 64 years; 51% female), the majority of whom had breast (19%), lung (25%), or other cancers (26%). For the cohort, severity of symptoms based on ESAS was low, but prevalence of specific symptoms was high including tiredness (84%), anxiety (60%), pain (60%), and low well-being (80%). Seventy percent of the cohort reported at least one supportive care need. The highest-ranking problems were fears and worries and needing information about illness/treatment. There were differences across tumor types with respect to symptoms and supportive care needs. Comorbidity and having a high number of supportive care needs were associated with higher symptom severity. DISCUSSION: Our results underscore the need to develop and implement tumor-specific supportive care interventions.
PURPOSE:Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are used to assess patients' symptoms and supportive care needs. While PROs are increasingly employed in clinical practice, research utilizing these data remains limited. Our goal was to evaluate PROs from a provincial cancer program. METHODS: A retrospective, population-based cohort study using administrative health data of patients in Alberta, Canada, diagnosed with cancer between January 1, 2016, and October 23, 2017. Adults who completed PROs (Edmonton Symptom Assessment System, ESAS) and supportive care needs inventory (Canadian Problem Checklist)) within ± 60 days of diagnosis were included. Patients were stratified by tumor types (breast, colorectal, lung, prostate, hematological, or other). Descriptive statistics were used to characterize symptom burden and supportive care needs. Multivariate logistic regression was used to evaluate factors associated with higher symptom severity. RESULTS: We included 1310 patients (mean age 64 years; 51% female), the majority of whom had breast (19%), lung (25%), or other cancers (26%). For the cohort, severity of symptoms based on ESAS was low, but prevalence of specific symptoms was high including tiredness (84%), anxiety (60%), pain (60%), and low well-being (80%). Seventy percent of the cohort reported at least one supportive care need. The highest-ranking problems were fears and worries and needing information about illness/treatment. There were differences across tumor types with respect to symptoms and supportive care needs. Comorbidity and having a high number of supportive care needs were associated with higher symptom severity. DISCUSSION: Our results underscore the need to develop and implement tumor-specific supportive care interventions.
Entities:
Keywords:
Patient-reported outcomes; Supportive care needs; Symptom burden; Symptom prevalence
Authors: Currie Moore; Shalini Santhakumaran; Glen P Martin; Thomas J Wilkinson; Fergus J Caskey; Winnie Magadi; Rachel Gair; Alice C Smith; David Wellsted; Sabine N van der Veer Journal: PLoS One Date: 2022-03-02 Impact factor: 3.240