The importance of patient-reported outcomes in cancer studies

Introduction: Cancer incidence is increasing; one in two people in the UK are expected to develop cancer during their lifetime. However, survival rates of people living with cancer have improved over the last few decades. More than 50% of all UK cancer patients survive for beyond 10 years, this rate has doubled in the last 40 years.Areas covered: This article provides a scientific review of the use of patient reported outcomes (PROs) to assess the short and longer term impact of cancer and treatment on patient quality of life and symptoms.Expert commentary: There is increasing recognition that, in addition to survival and other clinical metrics, we need to understand more about the impact that cancer and its treatment has on the everyday lives of people living with and beyond cancer. Patients must have access to information around quality of life and survival with which they can make more informed decisions about their care. We need to understand more about the natural history of recovery and wellbeing and the contributory factors to identify those who are not doing well and to understand how we can support them better, plan appropriate services and support patients in making choices about treatment