Are the data on quality of life and patient reported outcomes from clinical trials of metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer important?

Majority of the patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) experience two or more disease related symptoms, which may have a negative impact on their health-related quality of life (HR QOL). These patients prefer a therapy that would improve disease related symptoms, as opposed or treatment that slightly prolongs their survival without improving symptoms. The improvements of the symptoms augment the significance of improved response rates or progression free survivals. The choice of the questionnaires to evaluate patients-reported outcomes (PROs) and HRQOL benefits and methods of collecting the data and their interpretations are very important and are discussed in this manuscript. PROs and HR QOL outcomes are important in patients with advanced NSCLC only when the data are collected and analyzed correctly. Then they can be viewed as components of the total value of a treatment, providing a comprehensive picture of the benefits and risks of anticancer therapies. Enabling the patients to feel during the last months of their lives more comfortable and not be dependent on their loved ones is a very important task in the treatment of advanced NSCLC.