Choosing patient-reported outcome measures for cancer clinical research--practical principles and an algorithm to assist non-specialist researchers.

AIM

The purpose of this article is to give practical advice to researchers wishing to choose measures of quality of life and other patient-reported outcomes (PROs) for cancer clinical research.

METHOD

Readers are guided through the process of selecting a patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) by means of six principles, illustrated with examples.

RESULTS

PROM selection should always be undertaken with consideration of specific objectives, samples, treatments and available resources. Guiding principles include: (1) always consider PROMs early in the design process within the context of other methodological decisions; (2) choose a primary PROM that is as proximal to the cancer and/or its treatment as will add to knowledge and inform practice; (3) identify candidate PROMs primarily on the grounds of scaling and content; (4) appraise the reliability, validity and 'track records' of candidate PROMs in studies similar to that planned; (5) look ahead to practical concerns; and (6) take a minimalist approach to ad hoc items.

CONCLUSION

The principles and algorithms presented in this article will assist cancer clinical researchers who lack specialist expertise in patient-reported outcome measurement to make appropriate choices when selecting PROMs for their next study.