Melanoma Patients Suffer Side Effects of Checkpoint Inhibitors, Yet Maintain QoL

Source: Cancer Network, November 2015

Advanced melanoma patients successfully treated with a combination of nivolumab and ipilimumab may endure severe side effects, but they do not suffer any clinically meaningful changes in health-related quality of life (QoL), according to a new study presented at the Society for Melanoma Research 2015 International Congress, held November 18–21 in San Francisco.

Patient-reported outcomes (PROs), such as symptoms, health-related QoL, and patient-perceived health status, play an important role in clinical trials.

“PROs supplement clinical outcomes and provide a holistic understanding of patient experience and treatment effectiveness, and help inform therapeutic choices, disease management practices, reimbursement decisions, and health policy,” said Dirk Schadendorf, MD, director of the department of dermatology at the University Hospital Essen in Essen, Germany.

Several validated cancer-specific PRO instruments have been used in melanoma, including the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-melanoma subscale.