Use of Quality-of-Life Outcome Assessments in Current Cancer Clinical Trials

During the past decade, the importance of integrating quality of life with other indicators of efficacy in cancer clinical trials has been emphasized. This article reviews quality-of-life assessment in clinical trial reports. All empirical studies using patient ratings published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology from 1992 to 1996 were identified. Of these, 59 articles (4%) included quality-of-life assessment, most frequently measured by self-report questionnaires. Most articles reported clinical trials of symptom management or treatment. Future research needs to specify relationships between quality of life, toxicity, and survival. Continued development of this field requires more frequent inclusion of quality of life in clinical studies.