
Selecting a Subset Based on the Patient-Reported Outcomes Version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events for Patient-Reported Symptom Monitoring in Lung Cancer Treatment: Mixed Methods Study
Author(s) -
Evalien Veldhuijzen,
Iris Walraven,
J. Belderbos
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
jmir cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2369-1999
DOI - 10.2196/26574
Subject(s) - common terminology criteria for adverse events , medicine , lung cancer , nausea , adverse effect , terminology , medline , constipation , quality of life (healthcare) , physical therapy , family medicine , intensive care medicine , nursing , philosophy , linguistics , political science , law
Background The Patient-Reported Outcomes Version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (PRO-CTCAE) item library covers a wide range of symptoms relevant to oncology care. There is a need to select a subset of items relevant to specific patient populations to enable the implementation of PRO-CTCAE–based symptom monitoring in clinical practice. Objective The aim of this study is to develop a PRO-CTCAE–based subset relevant to patients with lung cancer that can be used for monitoring during multidisciplinary clinical practice. Methods The PRO-CTCAE–based subset for patients with lung cancer was generated using a mixed methods approach based on the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer guidelines for developing questionnaires, comprising a literature review and semistructured interviews with both patients with lung cancer and health care practitioners (HCPs). Both patients and HCPs were queried on the relevance and impact of all PRO-CTCAE items. The results were summarized, and after a final round of expert review, a selection of clinically relevant items for patients with lung cancer was made. Results A heterogeneous group of patients with lung cancer (n=25) from different treatment modalities and HCPs (n=22) participated in the study. A final list of eight relevant PRO-CTCAE items was created: decreased appetite, cough, shortness of breath, fatigue, constipation, nausea, sadness, and pain (general). Conclusions On the basis of the literature and both professional and patient input, a subset of PRO-CTCAE items has been identified for use in patients with lung cancer in clinical practice. Future work is needed to confirm the validity and effectiveness of this PRO-CTCAE–based lung cancer subset internationally and in real-world clinical practice settings.