The study focused on comparing the clinician-assessed and patient-reported performance status for predicting morbidity and mortality. Performance status (PS) is assessed throughout the cancer treatment phase to identify clinical trial eligibility, rightness for treatment, and need for supportive care. This is a rising concern of patients.
To assess and conclude, the secondary data collection method was utilized. The data from radiotherapy plus chemotherapy were collected, including 441 patients with advanced cancer, and clinicians reported PS using the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group scale.
Simple kappa statistics measured agreement between clinician-reported performance status (cPS) and patient-reported performance status (pPS), which displayed a weak correlation of kappa = 0.27 between the two.
Cox regression, competing risk regression and Fisher’s exact tests were used to understand associations of cPS and pPS with emergency departments (ED), hospital visits and overall survival. Both pPS and cPS were found to be associated with survival, ED visits, and hospitalizations. The cPS remained associated after adjustment as well (survival: HR, 1.75; P < .0001).
The first available cPS predicted mortality better than the first available pPS. Overall, the research suggested that cPS and pS offer useful information that can be used positively for clinical trials and routine care.
Ref: https://ascopubs.org/doi/full/10.1200/OP.20.00515
