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The clinical significance of quality of life assessments in oncology: a summary for clinicians

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Abstract

Background

A series of six manuscripts with an introduction appeared in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings, based upon the collective effort of 30 individuals with an interest and expertise in assessing the clinical significance of quality of life (QOL) assessments. The series of manuscripts described the state of the science of QOL assessments in oncology clinical research and practice and included extensive literature and theoretical justification for the continued inclusion of QOL in oncology clinical research and practice.

Objectives

The purpose of this paper is to produce a summary of these articles and to supplement these works with additional information that was gleaned from subsequent meetings and discussions of this material. The primary aim of this paper is to present a cogent and concise description for clinicians to facilitate the incorporation of QOL assessments into oncology clinical research and practice. The theoretical discussion is supplemented with an example of how the various ideas can be operationalized in an oncology clinical trial.

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Author information

Author notes

  1. Rick Berzon

    Present address: US Agency for International Development, Bureau for Global Health, Office of HIV/AIDS, Washington, DC, 20523, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic and Mayo Foundation, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA

    Jeff A. Sloan & Amylou Dueck

  2. Women’s Cancer Program, Mayo Clinic and Mayo Foundation, Rochester, MN, USA

    Marlene H. Frost

  3. Corporate Health Economics and Market Access, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Incorporated, Ridgefield, CT, 06877, USA

    Rick Berzon

  4. Department of Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McMaster University and Health Sciences Center, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Gordon Guyatt

  5. Southwest Oncology Group Statistical Center, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA

    Carol Moinpour

  6. Department of Medical Psychology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Mirjam Sprangers

  7. College of Nursing, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Carol Ferrans

  8. Center on Outcomes, Research and Education, Evanston Northwestern Healthcare and Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA

    David Cella

Authors
  1. Jeff A. Sloan
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  2. Marlene H. Frost
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  3. Rick Berzon
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  4. Amylou Dueck
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  5. Gordon Guyatt
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  6. Carol Moinpour
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  7. Mirjam Sprangers
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  8. Carol Ferrans
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  9. David Cella
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Consortia

Clinical Significance Consensus Meeting Group

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jeff A. Sloan.

Additional information

List of Clinical Significance Consensus Meeting Group contributors to this article: Neil Aaronson, Ph.D., Division of Psychosocial Research, Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Ivan Barofsky, Ph.D., Quality of Life Institute, East Sandwich, MA, USA; Amy Bonomi, MPH, MacColl Institute for Healthcare Innovation, Seattle, WA, USA; Monika Bullinger, Ph.D., University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany; Joseph Cappelleri, Ph.D., Global Research and Development, Pfizer Incorporated, Groton, CT, USA; Diane Fairclough, Ph.D., University of Colorado Health Sciences Center Denver, CO, USA; Larry Gorkin, Ph.D., Pfizer Incorporated, New York, NY, USA; Ron Hays, Ph.D., UCLA Division of GIM and Health Services Research, UCLA Department of Health Sciences, UCLA AIDS Institute, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Patrick Marquis, M.D., MBA, Mapi Values, Boston, MA, USA; Tim Moynihan, M.D., Department of Medical Oncology, Mayo Clinic Rochester, Rochester, MN, USA; Geoff Norman, Ph.D., McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada; David Osoba, M.D., QOL Consulting, West Vancouver, BC, Canada; Donald Patrick, Ph.D., Department Health Services, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; Dennis Revicki, Ph.D., MEDTAP International Incorporated, Bethesda, MD, USA; Theresa Rummans, M.D., Department of Psychiatry, Mayo Clinic Rochester, Rochester, MN, USA; Charles Scott, Ph.D., American College of Radiology, Philadelphia, PA, USA; Tara Symonds, Ph.D., Outcomes Research, Pfizer, Global Research and Development, Sandwich, Kent, UK; Claudette Varricchio, Ph.D., RN, Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, USA; Gilbert Wong, M.D., Department of Anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic Rochester, Rochester, MN, USA; Albert Wu, M.D., Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Hygiene and Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA; Kathleen Wyrwich, Ph.D., Saint Louis University, St. Louis, MO, USA.

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Sloan, J.A., Frost, M.H., Berzon, R. et al. The clinical significance of quality of life assessments in oncology: a summary for clinicians. Support Care Cancer 14, 988–998 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00520-006-0085-y

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