Cancer rehabilitation outpatient consultation: Patient characteristics, symptom burden and quality of life.
136 Background: Cancer rehabilitation focuses on the functional and psychological needs of cancer survivors. Patient-reported outcomes have been increasingly used as part of the standard of care during clinical encounters. We review characteristics that patients present to their outpatient cancer rehabilitation consultation at a large academic hospital. Methods: Patients presenting for their first outpatient cancer rehabilitation consultation completed a paper copy of the PROMIS-10 (Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System) instrument immediately prior to meeting with the physician. It includes 10 items evaluating quality of life, social life, functional activity, mental health, pain, and fatigue. A caregiver or health care provider could provide assistance in completing the form. Patient-reported outcomes were analyzed as part of an IRB-approved protocol. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and the “PROMIS Scoring Global Short Form v1.0 and v1.1” (12/16/2010). T-Score distributions are standardized such that a 50 represents the average (mean) for the US general population, and the standard deviation around that mean is 10 points. Results: Twenty-seven patients presented for consultation (63% women, 37% men) from 3/2014 through 6/2015 with an average age of 54.5 (44-76 range). Disease types included 52% brain tumors, 33% breast, 5% prostate, and 1% of each of the following: melanoma, myelofibrosis, and multiple myeloma. For our population, the physical health subscale score was 11.51 with a T-Score 38.6, standard error 4.1, a T-Score more than one standard deviation below the population mean. The mental health subscale was 11.92 with a T-Score 43.5, standard error 3.6, representing less than one standard deviation below the mean. The global health score was 28.55, which fell 2 standard deviations below the population mean. Conclusions: Compared to the US population mean, cancer survivors presenting for a cancer rehabilitation consultation had lower physical health than mental health. Our findings suggest the importance of screening cancer survivors for physical impairments and providing interventions focused on functional recovery.