title: Systematic review of patient-reported outcome measures in the surgical treatment of patients with esophageal cancer.
abstract: Esophageal cancer is currently the eighth most common cancer worldwide. Improvements in operative techniques and neoadjuvant therapies have led to improved outcomes. Resection of the esophagus carries a high risk of severe complications and has a negative impact on health-related quality of life (QOL). The aim of this study was to assess which patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are used to measure QOL after esophagectomy for cancer. A comprehensive search of original articles was conducted investigating QOL after surgery for esophageal carcinoma. Two authors independently selected relevant articles, conducted clinical appraisal, and extracted data (PJ and JS). Out of 5893 articles, 58 studies were included, consisting of 41 prospective and 17 retrospective cohort studies, including a total of 6964 patients. These studies included 11 different PROMs. The existing PROMs could be divided into generic, symptom-specific, and disease-specific questionnaires. The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QOL Questionnaire Core 30 (QLQ C-30) along with the EORTC QLQ-OESophagus module OES18 was the most widely used; in 42 and 32 studies, respectively. The EORTC and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy (FACT) questionnaires use an oncological module and an organ-specific module. One validation study was available, which compared the FACT and EORTC, showing moderate to poor correlation between the questionnaires. A great variety of PROMs are being used in the measurement of QOL after surgery for esophageal cancer. A questionnaire with a general module along with a disease-specific module for assessment of QOL of different treatment modalities seem to be the most desirable, such as the EORTC and the FACT with their specific modules (EORTC QLQ-OES18 and FACT-E). Both are developed in different treatment modalities, such as in surgical patients. With regard to reproducibility of current results, the EORTC is recommended.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Gastrointestinal Surgery, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. je.straatman@vumc.nl.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Straatman
authors.affiliation: Departments of Gastrointestinal Surgery, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: P J M
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Joosten
authors.affiliation: Departments of Epidemiology and Biostatistics and the EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: C B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Terwee
authors.affiliation: Departments of Gastrointestinal Surgery, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Cuesta
authors.affiliation: Medical library, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: E P
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Jansma
authors.affiliation: Departments of Gastrointestinal Surgery, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: van der Peet
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D016629:Esophagectomy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000071066:Patient Reported Outcome Measures; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: PROM; esophageal cancer; esophagectomy; quality of life