Real-world utilization of quality-of-life data: Perspectives from community oncology providers.

Abstract

286 Background: Quality of life (QoL) is commonly assessed in oncology clinical trials. However, it is unclear if oncology healthcare providers (HCPs) perceive value in these metrics or if they impact clinical practice. We sought to assess the real-world utilization of QoL data and barriers to its adoption among US community oncology providers. Methods: Medical oncologists/hematologists, and advanced practice providers (APPs) participated in a survey to assess their perceptions and the utility of QoL data for routine practice during a live meeting in September 2019. Responses were captured via a web-based premeeting survey and an audience response system during the live meeting. Participant characteristics and responses were summarized using descriptive statistics. Results: A total of 71 HCPs (51 physicians and 20 APPs) participated. Regarding perceptions of QoL in oncology, 50% of physicians and 32% of APPs reported aligning with the sentence “It is important to have QoL, but efficacy is obviously the most critical endpoint.” HCPs reported that QoL may outweigh overall survival (OS) in certain clinical scenarios, such as in end-of-life (81%), frail patients (67%), or metastatic tumors (62%). When selecting between two agents with similar efficacy, safety was the most important factor (78%), followed by QoL (40%). 64% of physicians utilized aggregate QoL data from registrational trials or real-world studies to keep informed about QoL of different treatments, while 69% of APPs relied on their personal or practice experiences. 85% of physicians and 84% of APPs responded that it is important to perform formal QoL assessments during routine patient visits. 88% of HCPs expected that QoL/patient-reported outcomes (PRO) collection will increase their workload. Patient burden (58%) and provider resources (43%) were other barriers for QoL/PRO collection. HCPs were largely split regarding their understanding of QoL versus PRO, with 34% reporting that PRO was a subset of QoL and 28% reporting that QoL was a subset of PRO. Conclusions: Efficacy and safety are prioritized as clinical endpoints among oncology HCPs; however, there are certain clinical scenarios where QoL may provide more impactful data for HCPs in managing patients. Barriers remain to successful collection of QoL, and there is a need for further education among HCPs regarding PROs and QoL.