Systematic review reveals lack of quality in reporting health-related quality of life in patients with gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumours

Health and Quality of Life Outcomes

Review

Irene Virgolini¹  Bernhard Nilica¹  Bernhard Holzner²  Barbara Sperner-Unterweger²  Caroline Martini²  Lisa Wintner²  Eva-Maria Gamper³ 

[1] Department for Nuclear Medicine, Medical University of Innsbruck, Anichstraße 35, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria;Department for Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical University of Innsbruck, Anichstraße 35, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria;Department for Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical University of Innsbruck, Anichstraße 35, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria;Department for Nuclear Medicine, Medical University of Innsbruck, Anichstraße 35, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria;

关键词: Health-related quality of life;    Gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumours;    Patient-reported outcomes;    Systematic review;    Methodological quality;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12955-016-0527-2

 received in 2016-01-22, accepted in 2016-09-02,  发布年份 2016

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundGastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (GEP-NET) are often slow-growing and patients may live for years with metastasised disease. Hence, along with increasing overall and progression-free survival, treatments aim at preserving patients’ well-being and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). However, studies on systematic HRQoL assessment in patients with GEP-NET are scarce. Therefore, the purpose of the current review is to systematically evaluate the methodological quality of the identified studies.MethodsA targeted database search was performed in PubMed, EMBASE, and CENTRAL. Data extraction was conducted by two independent researchers according to predefined criteria. For study evaluation, the Minimum Standard Checklist for Evaluating HRQoL Outcomes in Cancer Clinical Trials and the CONSORT Patient-Reported Outcome extension were adapted.ResultsThe database search yielded 48 eligible studies. We found the awareness for the need of HRQoL measurement to be growing and application of cancer-specific instruments gaining acceptance. Overall, studies were too heterogeneous in terms of patient characteristics and treatment interventions to draw clear conclusions for clinical practice. More importantly, a range of methodological shortcomings has been identified which were mainly related to the assessment and statistical analysis, as well as the reporting and interpretation of HRQoL data.ConclusionDespite an increasing interest in HRQoL in GEP-NET patients, there is still a lack of knowledge on this issue. A transfer of HRQoL results into clinical practice is hindered not only by the scarceness of studies, but also by the often limited quality of HRQoL processing and reporting.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2016