Patient-Reported Outcomes in Ovarian Cancer: Facilitating and Enhancing the Reporting of Symptoms, Adverse Events, and Subjective Benefit of Treatment in Clinical Trials and Clinical Practice

• Published in: Patient related outcome measures Vol. 14; pp. 111 - 126
• Main Authors: Campbell, Rachel, King, Madeleine T, Stockler, Martin R, Lee, Yeh Chen, Roncolato, Felicia T, Friedlander, Michael L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New Zealand Dove Medical Press Limited 31-05-2023; Dove; Dove Medical Press
• Subjects: clinical practice; Clinical trials; Complications and side effects; Medical policy; Medical research; Medicine, Experimental; Ovarian cancer; Patient education; Patient outcomes; patient-reported outcomes; Review; Australia; Taiwan; patient-reported outcomes; clinical practice; clinical trials; ovarian cancer
• ISSN: 1179-271X; 1179-271X
• DOI: 10.2147/PROM.S297301

Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) provide a valid, standardized way of assessing symptoms, adverse events and the subjective benefit of treatment from the patient's perspective. Assessment of PROs is critical in ovarian cancer due to the high morbidity of the disease and its treatments. Several well-validated PRO measures are available to assess PROs in ovarian cancer. Their inclusion in clinical trials can provide evidence on the benefits and harms of new treatments based on patients' experiences to guide improvements in clinical practice and health policy. Aggregate PRO data collected in clinical trials can be used to inform patients about likely treatment impacts and assist them to make informed treatment decisions. In clinical practice, PRO assessments can facilitate monitoring of a patient's symptoms throughout treatment and follow-up to guide their clinical management; in this context, an individual patient's responses can facilitate communication with their treating clinician about troublesome symptoms and their impact on their quality of life. This literature review aimed to provide clinicians and researchers with a better understanding of why and how PROs can be incorporated into ovarian cancer clinical trials and routine clinical practice. We discuss the importance of assessing PROs throughout the ovarian cancer disease and treatment trajectory in both clinical trials and clinical practice, and provide examples from existing literature to illustrate the uses of PROs as the goals of treatment change in each setting.