Differences in Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in Patients With Cancer Six Months Before Death

Authors

Samantha Tam, Henry Ford HealthFollow
Nada Al-Antary, Henry Ford HealthFollow
Eric Adjei Boakye, Henry Ford HealthFollow
Kylie Springer, Henry Ford HealthFollow
Laila M. Poisson, Henry Ford HealthFollow
Wan-Ting Su, Henry Ford HealthFollow
Jeewanjot S. Grewal, Henry Ford HealthFollow
Theresa Zatirka, Henry Ford HealthFollow
Michael Ryan, Henry Ford HealthFollow
Benjamin Movsas, Henry Ford HealthFollow
Steven S. Chang, Henry Ford HealthFollow

Recommended Citation

Tam S, Al-Antary N, Adjei Boakye E, Springer K, Poisson LM, Su WT, Grewal J, Zatirka T, Ryan M, Movsas B, and Chang SS. Differences in Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in Patients With Cancer Six Months Before Death. JCO Oncol Pract 2024.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-9-2024

Publication Title

JCO Oncol Pract

Abstract

PURPOSE: Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) provide a direct report of the patient's perspective, complementary to clinician assessment. Currently, understanding the real-time changes in PROM scores near the end of life remains limited. This study evaluated differences in mean PROM scores between patients with cancer within 6 months before death compared with surviving patients with cancer.

METHODS: This retrospective case-control study uses the National Institutes of Health's Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System computer adaptive testing instruments to assess pain interference, physical function, fatigue, and depression. Patients dying within 6 months of PROM completion were selected as cases and matched to controls 1:3 by age at PROM completion, sex, cancer disease site, and cancer stage at diagnosis. Generalized estimating equation models assessed the difference in mean PROM score in cases compared with controls.

RESULTS: A total of 461 cases and 1,270 controls from September 2020 to January 2023 were included. After adjustment for ethnicity, Charlson Comorbidity Index, and census tract median household income, significant differences in mean scores were demonstrated. Physical function domain showed the largest difference, with cases averaging 6.52 points lower than controls (95% CI, -8.25 to -4.80). Fatigue and pain interference domains showed a rise in PROMs scores by 4.83 points (95% CI, 2.94 to 6.72) and 4.33 points (95% CI, 2.53 to 6.12), respectively.

CONCLUSION: Compared with controls, patients dying within 6 months of PROM completion demonstrated worse PROM scores in the four domains assessed. These findings suggest the utility of routinely collected PROMs as a real-time indicator of the terminal stage of life among patients with cancer to allow for earlier intervention with supportive oncology services.

PubMed ID

39250724

ePublication

ePub ahead of print

First Page

2300720

Last Page

2300720