ASCO Plenary Series: telehealth and symptom management to improve patient-reported outcomes

Recent research presented at the inaugural session of the ASCO Plenary Series (15 November 2021) has highlighted a relatively simple approach to improving patient care and symptom management using telehealth and patient-reported outcomes. The multi-institutional study described a cluster-randomized trial evaluating a telehealth-based, digital-monitoring system in which patients undergoing cancer treatment report symptoms through weekly at-home surveys. Results of the study show that this simple and feasible approach significantly improves symptom management and yields better clinical outcomes. Once cancer treatment begins, patients will start experiencing treatment-related symptoms and toxicity, as well as those which are directly associated with the cancer....