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Evaluation of an Online Platform for Cancer Patient Self-reporting of Chemotherapy Toxicities

^a Department of Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
^b Department of Medicine, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
^c Department of Information Services, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
^d Department of Urology, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
^e Physician-in-Chief’s Office, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY.

^_* Correspondence and reprints: Ethan Basch, MD, MSc, Departments of Medicine and Biostatistics, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 307 East 63^rd Street, New York, NY 10021 (Email: basche{at}mskcc.org).

Received for publication: 06/12/06; accepted for publication: 01/24/07.

The current mechanism for monitoring toxicity symptoms in cancer trials depends on a complex paper-based process. Electronic collection of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) may be more efficient and accurate. An online PRO platform was created including a simple data entry interface, real-time report generation, and an alert system to e-mail clinicians when patients self-report serious toxicities. Feasibility assessment involving 180 chemotherapy patients demonstrated high levels of use at up to 40 follow-up clinic visits per patient over 16 months (85% of patients at any given visit), with high levels of patient and clinician acceptance and satisfaction (>95%). Alerts were used as the basis for delayed chemotherapy treatments, dose modifications, and scheduling changes. These results demonstrate that online patient-reporting is a feasible strategy for chemotherapy toxicity symptom monitoring, and may improve safety and satisfaction with care. Ongoing multi-center research will evaluate the impact of this approach on clinical and administrative outcomes.

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