OBJECTIVES

New cancer treatments such as ICI can improve oncology patients’ survival and HRQoL. While long term monitoring of HRQoL and patients’ symptoms has been shown to improve patients’ survival, HRQoL integration into current practice remains poorly documented. The study objective was to describe patients' experiences and expectations regarding HRQoL consideration in cancer management.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study was conducted on an online patient community (Carenity) in France. Patients treated with ICI for cancer, included between Sep 2018 and Jan 2019, responded to a questionnaire to assess healthcare practitioners (HCP) involvement in HRQoL, times of discussion, and dimensions discussed.

RESULTS

Of 82 patients included (median age: 59 years; 56% male, 41% with lung cancer), three-fourths (62) mentioned a HRQoL discussion at least once with HCPs, mainly general practitioners (GPs) (66%), oncologists (65%), and hospital nurses (61%). Half of the patients (45) were satisfied with their HRQoL discussions. When discussed, it remained occasional with all HCPs for more than half of patients and at their initiative (64%). HRQoL discussions occurred primarily during follow-up visits (65%), adverse event occurrence (48%), and treatment initiation (44%), but less frequently at treatment discontinuation (15%) or modification (19%). The most discussed dimensions were symptoms (77%) and physical well-being (69%).

In terms of expectations, two-thirds (54) of the patients considered oncologists as one of the most important HCPs to discuss HRQoL, half (44) for the GPs. Among them, for all times from diagnosis to palliative care, 77% to 92% considered HRQoL discussions important. All HRQoL dimensions were considered as critical.

CONCLUSIONS

With only half of the patients satisfied with HRQoL discussions, impactful HRQoL integration in clinical practice is critical. According to patients, this integration should involve mainly oncologists and GPs, should happen at every step of the care pathway and be extending to dimensions still rarely addressed.