Objective: To investigate whether patient-reported symptoms provide independent prognostic information for survival in patients with hematological malignancies.
Study design and setting: Overall 119 patients with various diagnoses were recruited in an observational study and symptoms were assessed with the M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI). Key potential socio-demographic, biomedical, and physician-reported prognostic candidates were also considered. The Cox proportional hazards regression model was used for both univariate and multivariate analyses of survival. Additional sensitivity analysis, based on 500 bootstrap-generated simulation datasets, was also performed to confirm the results obtained with the Cox regression model.
Results: The median survival of the entire cohort was 4.8 months (range 0-28 months). The MDASI was completed at baseline by 91% of patients. The final multivariate model retained two parameters as independent prognostic factors for survival: clinical prognostic group and patient's self-reported severity of drowsiness. The following hazard ratios (HR) were found for curable vs. terminal: 0.055 (95% CI, 0.022-0.136; P < 0.001) and 0.193 (95% CI, 0.103-0.362: P < 0.001) for advanced vs. terminal. Patient's self-reported severity of drowsiness independently predicted survival with a HR of 1.801 (95% CI, 1.044-3.107; P = 0.033). Additional sensitivity analysis confirmed the independent prognostic value of variables identified in this study.
Conclusion: The results suggest that patients' self-reporting of symptoms provides independent prognostic information for survival in patients with hematologic malignancies. These findings underscore the value of collecting patient-reported symptom data in routine clinical practice.
© 2012 John Wiley & Sons A/S.