Missing patients’ symptoms in cancer care delivery—the importance of patient-reported outcomes
Menée aux Etats-Unis auprès de 604 patientes atteintes d'un cancer du sein (âge médian : 53,4 ans), cette étude prospective analyse l'efficacité d'un outil permettant leur auto-évaluation de la sévérité des symptômes et des effets indésirables liés à la chimiothérapie adjuvante
Several years ago, a methodologist colleague at Memorial Sloan Kettering demonstrated to me that I do no better detecting symptoms than any other oncologist, despite my belief that I am a relatively “patient-centered” clinician (he did this by analyzing research data sets that include both clinician and patient symptom reports). The implications of our missing this information are profound: undermanagement of symptoms, unnecessary suffering, avoidable emergency department visits and hospitalizations, and treatment interruptions.1- 3 In clinical trials, this phenomenon can lead to underestimation of risk compared with benefit.4
JAMA Oncology , éditorial, 2014