title: Feasibility of an interactive electronic self-report tool for oral cancer therapy in an outpatient setting.
abstract: The introduction of oral anti-cancer agents provides a convenient administration route for chronic cancer treatment to outpatients. Health information technology through web-based applications or other electronic tools can offer a platform to improve treatment compliance, symptom management, and patient-provider communication.
  
  
  
  The purposes of this study were to test the feasibility and clinical utility of an electronic self-report device (RemeCoach) for patients or their caregivers and to register and prospectively evaluate the quality of data generated.
  
  
  
  Patients using Teysuno® (S-1) for advanced gastrointestinal carcinoma used a pre-programmed device in order to register compliance to treatment and six clinical parameters. Real-time data were collected onto a central platform, which processed the data by an algorithm. This algorithm stratified the data into different grades based on the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE v4.0).
  
  
  
  From December 2013 to March 2014, 11 patients (5 men, 6 women) were enrolled. Compliance to the device was high, six patients (55 %) registered timely intake of medication (demonstrating >95 % treatment compliance). Agreement between patients' and clinicians' reported toxicity was substantial for nausea, but discrepant for fatigue, hand-foot syndrome, and mucositis.
  
  
  
  The use of an interactive self-report tool is feasible, reliable, and acceptable to outpatients. The RemeCoach and the algorithm devised will be further developed as an interactive patient-reported outcome (PRO) system, to improve early detection of side effects in an outpatient setting. Further studies are needed to confirm these data and to explore the relationship between optimal patient support and efficacy of treatment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Multidisciplinary Oncological Center Antwerp, MOCA, University Hospital Antwerp, Wilrijkstraat 10, 2650, Edegem, Belgium. marika.rasschaert@uza.be.
authors.forename: Marika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rasschaert
authors.affiliation: Department of Ophtalmology, University Hospital Antwerp, Wilrijkstraat 10, 2650, Edegem, Belgium.
authors.forename: Silke
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Helsen
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Multidisciplinary Oncological Center Antwerp, MOCA, University Hospital Antwerp, Wilrijkstraat 10, 2650, Edegem, Belgium.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Rolfo
authors.affiliation: Remedus BVBA, Boomsesteenweg 44, 2630, Aartselaar, Belgium.
authors.forename: Ilse
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Van Brussel
authors.affiliation: Remedus BVBA, Boomsesteenweg 44, 2630, Aartselaar, Belgium.
authors.forename: Jo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ravelingien
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Multidisciplinary Oncological Center Antwerp, MOCA, University Hospital Antwerp, Wilrijkstraat 10, 2650, Edegem, Belgium.|University of Antwerp, Prinsstraat 13, 2000, Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Peeters
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000628:therapy*; D010045:Outpatients; D000071066:Patient Reported Outcome Measures; D057566:Self Report
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents
keywords: Chronic care model; Oral anti-cancer agents; Patient-reported outcome (PRO); Self-report