Objective Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are essential when evaluating many new treatments in health care, yet current measures have been limited by a lack of precision, standardization and comparability of scores across studies and diseases. The Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS™) provides item banks that offer the potential for PRO measurement that is efficient (minimizes item number without compromising reliability) flexible (enables optional use of interchangeable items), and precise (has minimal error in estimate) measurement of commonly-studied PROs. We report results from the first large-scale testing of PROMIS items. Study Design and Setting Fourteen item pools were tested in the U.S. general population and clinical groups using an online panel and clinic recruitment. A scale-setting sub-sample was created reflecting demographics proportional to the 2000 U.S. census. Results Using item response theory (graded response model), 11 item banks were calibrated on a sample of 21,133, measuring components of self-reported physical, mental and social health, along with a 10-item global health scale. Short forms from each bank were developed and compared to the overall bank as well as with other well-validated and widely accepted (“legacy”) measures. All item banks demonstrated good reliability across the majority of the score distributions. Construct validity was supported by moderate to strong correlations with legacy measures. Conclusion PROMIS item banks and their short forms provide evidence they are reliable and precise measures of generic symptoms and functional reports comparable to legacy instruments. Further testing will continue to validate and test PROMIS items and banks in diverse clinical populations.

The NIH PROMIS network derived a consensus-based framework for self-reported health, systematically reviewed available instruments and datasets that address the initial PROMIS domains. Qualitative item research led to the first wave of network testing which began in the second year.

Summarized are key analytic issues; recommendations are provided for future evaluations of item banks in HRQOL assessment.

The development of these minimum measurement standards is intended to promote the appropriate use of PRO measures to inform PCOR and CER, which in turn can improve the effectiveness and efficiency of healthcare delivery. A next step is to expand these minimum standards to identify best practices for selecting decision-relevant PRO measures.

When used appropriately, IRT can be a powerful tool for questionnaire development, evaluation, and refinement, resulting in precise, valid, and relatively brief instruments that minimize response burden.

The standard approach for documenting symptomatic adverse events (AEs) in cancer clinical trials involves investigator reporting using the National Cancer Institute's (NCI's) Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE). Because this approach underdetects symptomatic AEs, the NCI issued two contracts to create a patient-reported outcome (PRO) measurement system as a companion to the CTCAE, called the PRO-CTCAE. This Commentary describes development of the PRO-CTCAE by a group of multidisciplinary investigators and patient representatives and provides an overview of qualitative and quantitative studies of its measurement properties. A systematic evaluation of all 790 AEs listed in the CTCAE identified 78 appropriate for patient self-reporting. For each of these, a PRO-CTCAE plain language term in English and one to three items characterizing the frequency, severity, and/or activity interference of the AE were created, rendering a library of 124 PRO-CTCAE items. These items were refined in a cognitive interviewing study among patients on active cancer treatment with diverse educational, racial, and geographic backgrounds. Favorable measurement properties of the items, including construct validity, reliability, responsiveness, and between-mode equivalence, were determined prospectively in a demographically diverse population of patients receiving treatments for many different tumor types. A software platform was built to administer PRO-CTCAE items to clinical trial participants via the internet or telephone interactive voice response and was refined through usability testing. Work is ongoing to translate the PRO-CTCAE into multiple languages and to determine the optimal approach for integrating the PRO-CTCAE into clinical trial workflow and AE analyses. It is envisioned that the PRO-CTCAE will enhance the precision and patient-centeredness of adverse event reporting in cancer clinical research.

Integrating PROs in clinical practice has the potential to enhance patient-centered care. The online version of the User's Guide will be updated periodically.

Importance Symptomatic adverse events (AEs) in cancer trials are currently reported by clinicians using the National Cancer Institute's (NCI) Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE). To integrate the patient perspective, the NCI developed a patient-reported outcomes version of the CTCAE (PRO-CTCAE) to capture symptomatic AEs directly from patients. Objective To assess the construct validity, test-retest reliability, and responsiveness of PRO-CTCAE items. Design Participants completed PRO-CTCAE items on tablet computers in clinic waiting rooms at two visits 1-6 weeks apart. A subset completed PRO-CTCAE items during an additional visit one business day after the first visit. Setting Nine U.S. cancer centers and community oncology practices. Participants 975 adult cancer patients undergoing outpatient chemotherapy and/or radiation enrolled between January 2011 and February 2012. Eligibility required participants to read English and be without clinically significant cognitive impairment. Main Outcome(s) and Measure(s) Primary comparators were clinician-reported Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status (ECOG PS) and the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Core Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ-C30). Results 940/975 (96%) and 852/940 (91%) participants completed PRO-CTCAE items at each visit. 938/940 (99.8%) participants (53% female, median age 59, 32% high school education or less, 17% ECOG PS 2-4) reported having at least one symptom. All PRO-CTCAE items had at least one correlation in the expected direction with a QLQ-C30 scale (111/124 P<.05). Stronger correlations were seen between PRO-CTCAE items and conceptually-related QLQ-C30 domains. Scores for 94/124 PRO-CTCAE items were higher in the ECOG PS 2-4 versus 0-1 group (58/124 P<.05). Overall, 119/124 items met at least one construct validity criterion. Test-retest reliability was acceptable for 36/49 pre-specified items (median intra-class correlation coefficient .76; range .53-.96). Correlations between PRO-CTCAE item changes and corresponding QLQ-C30 scale changes reached statistical significance for 27 pre-specified items (median r=.43, range .10-.56; all P≤.006). Conclusions and Relevance Evidence demonstrates favorable validity, reliability, and responsiveness of PRO-CTCAE in a large, heterogeneous U.S. sample of patients undergoing cancer treatment. Studies evaluating other measurement properties of PRO-CTCAE are underway to inform further development of PRO-CTCAE and its inclusion in cancer trials.