Systematic review and meta-analysis of impact of integration of PROMs on outcomes of cancer care

Symptoms, many of which go largely undetected by clinicians, are common among individuals with cancer. A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigated the impact of integration of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) into cancer care on outcomes. From 1996 to 2022, 45 RCTs including 13,661 participants addressed the association of PROMs with outcomes considered important to patients. The addition of a PROM as intervention likely reduced the risk of overall mortality (moderate certainty) and improved health-related quality of life (HRQOL) at 12 weeks (moderate certainty). Improvements of HRQOL at 24 weeks were not significant, while there was no association of addition of a PROM and HRQOL at 48 weeks. The addition of a PROM was not associated with reduced ED visits or hospital admissions. The authors conclude that the findings of this study suggest that the integration of PROMs into cancer care may improve overall survival and quality of life.