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Feasibility of patient-reported outcomes collection in clinical routine at a radiotherapy department

Kristensen, Ingrid Fagerström LU ; Jerkeman, Mats LU ; Linnér, Anton ; Nilsson, Martin P. LU ; Rogowski, Viktor LU and Munck af Rosenschöld, Per LU orcid (2026) In Acta Oncologica 65. p.326-332
Abstract

Background and purpose: Routine collection of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) may provide valuable real-world data on quality of life (QoL) and treatment tolerability, complementing clinical outcomes. This study evaluated the feasibility of launching a semi-automated, department-wide PROM collection program at a large tertiary radiotherapy centre. Patients and methods: Patients ≥ 18 years referred for radiotherapy were invited to participate. Exclusion criteria were inability to provide informed consent, severe cognitive conditions, or language barriers. PROMs were collected using a web-based application (“Blå Appen”) at baseline, end-of-treatment, and follow-up intervals, using the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire (Version 3).... (More)

Background and purpose: Routine collection of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) may provide valuable real-world data on quality of life (QoL) and treatment tolerability, complementing clinical outcomes. This study evaluated the feasibility of launching a semi-automated, department-wide PROM collection program at a large tertiary radiotherapy centre. Patients and methods: Patients ≥ 18 years referred for radiotherapy were invited to participate. Exclusion criteria were inability to provide informed consent, severe cognitive conditions, or language barriers. PROMs were collected using a web-based application (“Blå Appen”) at baseline, end-of-treatment, and follow-up intervals, using the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire (Version 3). Results: During the study period (January 2022 to April 2025), 12,472 patients underwent treatment in the department. A total of 4,764 provided informed consent for study participation, where 3,699 (77.6%) remained after exclusion due to data loss or data inconsistency. Among these, 3,056 patients (82.6%) provided at least one usable PROM questionnaire at baseline. Participants were younger (median age 69 years vs. 71 years). Overall, global health status was relatively high at baseline and remained stable or slightly improved at one-year follow-up. To further investigate clinically significant changes in QoL over time, we evaluated the proportion of patients in each diagnostic category who experienced a change of > 10 points in selected QLQ-C30 scales between baseline and follow-up. Breast cancer patients had the highest rates of meaningful improvement and the lowest rates of major deterioration. In contrast, prostate cancer patients were more prone to significant declines in QoL scales over time. Interpretation: This prospective study demonstrates that department-wide collection of PROM is feasible. Using a digital platform, we achieved a high initial response rate and successfully engaged patients across a broad range of cancers. The routine PROM collection provided valuable insights into patients’ quality of life and symptom burden during and after treatment.

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author
; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
cancer, Health-related quality of life, patient-reported outcome measurement, radiotherapy
in
Acta Oncologica
volume
65
pages
7 pages
publisher
Taylor & Francis
external identifiers
  • pmid:42017460
  • scopus:105036456905
ISSN
0284-186X
DOI
10.2340/ao.v65.45546
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
737f72de-612a-47a5-ae43-59e6dd29e322
date added to LUP
2026-06-26 13:16:16
date last changed
2026-09-20 01:48:42
@article{737f72de-612a-47a5-ae43-59e6dd29e322,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background and purpose: Routine collection of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) may provide valuable real-world data on quality of life (QoL) and treatment tolerability, complementing clinical outcomes. This study evaluated the feasibility of launching a semi-automated, department-wide PROM collection program at a large tertiary radiotherapy centre. Patients and methods: Patients ≥ 18 years referred for radiotherapy were invited to participate. Exclusion criteria were inability to provide informed consent, severe cognitive conditions, or language barriers. PROMs were collected using a web-based application (“Blå Appen”) at baseline, end-of-treatment, and follow-up intervals, using the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire (Version 3). Results: During the study period (January 2022 to April 2025), 12,472 patients underwent treatment in the department. A total of 4,764 provided informed consent for study participation, where 3,699 (77.6%) remained after exclusion due to data loss or data inconsistency. Among these, 3,056 patients (82.6%) provided at least one usable PROM questionnaire at baseline. Participants were younger (median age 69 years vs. 71 years). Overall, global health status was relatively high at baseline and remained stable or slightly improved at one-year follow-up. To further investigate clinically significant changes in QoL over time, we evaluated the proportion of patients in each diagnostic category who experienced a change of &gt; 10 points in selected QLQ-C30 scales between baseline and follow-up. Breast cancer patients had the highest rates of meaningful improvement and the lowest rates of major deterioration. In contrast, prostate cancer patients were more prone to significant declines in QoL scales over time. Interpretation: This prospective study demonstrates that department-wide collection of PROM is feasible. Using a digital platform, we achieved a high initial response rate and successfully engaged patients across a broad range of cancers. The routine PROM collection provided valuable insights into patients’ quality of life and symptom burden during and after treatment.</p>}},
  author       = {{Kristensen, Ingrid Fagerström and Jerkeman, Mats and Linnér, Anton and Nilsson, Martin P. and Rogowski, Viktor and Munck af Rosenschöld, Per}},
  issn         = {{0284-186X}},
  keywords     = {{cancer; Health-related quality of life; patient-reported outcome measurement; radiotherapy}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{326--332}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{Acta Oncologica}},
  title        = {{Feasibility of patient-reported outcomes collection in clinical routine at a radiotherapy department}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.2340/ao.v65.45546}},
  doi          = {{10.2340/ao.v65.45546}},
  volume       = {{65}},
  year         = {{2026}},
}