Symptom science research conducted in NCI community programs over the past decade.

Abstract

220 Background: With the rising number of survivors across many cancer sites, increasing attention is being paid to assessing, preventing, and managing cancer and treatment related symptoms. This presentation will discuss the breadth of the symptom management portfolio within the community research programs funded by the NCI: The Community Clinical Oncology Program (CCOP) and the NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) from 2008 to 2018. Trends in types of symptoms and study designs will be described to identify research gaps. Methods: Symptom management research was operationally defined as any clinical study focusing on cancer and treatment related symptoms and/or related psychological, social and spiritual problems. The primary endpoint is measured by a patient reported outcome (PRO). Using this definition, a search was conducted of the NCI database to capture clinical studies implemented in the CCOP and NCORP networks from 2008 to 2018. Results: Between 2008 and 2018, 68 clinical studies were conducted in the NCI community research programs that met this definition. During this period of time, the most frequently studied symptom was neurotoxicities (n = 13), comprised of chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy (n = 3), neurocognition (n = 9) and ototoxicity (n = 1). Gastrointestinal symptoms (n = 10), pain (n = 9) and fatigue (6) were the following most frequent. The least studied symptoms included genitourinary symptoms (n = 1), vaginal health (n = 1), sexual desire (n = 1), psychosocial (n = 2) and lymphedema (n = 2). The predominant trial design was phase II or III randomized clinical trial with the remaining longitudinal, cohort design. Further delineation of these data will be presented. Conclusions: The prevalence of the symptoms studied within the NCI community programs mirrors the symptom literature in terms of frequency. Cancer survivors have reported a number of symptoms not adequately addressed by their clinicians such as sexual health and psychosocial issues. This gap also mirrors the frequency of research conducted in the community networks. Future research in the network focusing on these understudied areas should be considered by investigators.