Systematic review of patient ‐reported outcome measures in the surgical treatment of patients with esophageal cancer

Summary
Esophageal cancer is currently the eighth most common cancer worldwide. Improvements in operative techniques and neoadjuvant therapies have led to improved outcomes. Resection of the esophagus carries a high risk of severe complications and has a negative impact on health‐related quality of life (QOL). The aim of this study was to assess which patient‐reported outcome measures (PROMs) are used to measure QOL after esophagectomy for cancer. A comprehensive search of original articles was conducted investigating QOL after surgery for esophageal carcinoma. Two authors independently selected relevant articles, conducted clinical appraisal, and extracted data (PJ and JS). Out of 5893 articles, 58 studies were included, consisting of 41 prospective and 17 retrospective cohort studies, including a total of 6964 patients. These studies included 11 different PROMs. The existing PROMs could be divided into generic, symptom‐specific, and disease‐specific questionnaires. The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QOL Questionnaire Core 30 (QLQ C‐30) along with the EORTC QLQ‐OESophagus module OES18 was the most widely used; in 42 and 32 studies, respectively. The EORTC and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT) questionnaires use an oncological module and an organ‐specific module. One validation study was available, which compared the FACT and EORTC, showing moderate to poor correlation between the questionnaires. A great varie...

Source: Diseases of the Esophagus - October 14, 2015 Category: Gastroenterology Authors: J. Straatman, P. J. M. Joosten, C. B. Terwee, M. A. Cuesta, E. P. Jansma, D. L. Peet Tags: Malignant Esophageal Disease Source Type: research