Impact of an ePRO-informed clinical decision support tool on clinical discussions during a follow-up visit for post-treatment head and neck cancer survivors: Results from the HN-STAR trial (WF-1805CD).
509 Background: ASCO guidelines for care of post-treatment head and neck cancer (HNC) survivors recommend comprehensive management of late effects, comorbidities, health behaviors, and cancer risks. We developed HN-STAR: a clinical decision support tool based on electronic patient-reported outcomes (ePROs) to improve implementation of HNC survivorship guidelines. Methods: We conducted a site-randomized controlled trial of oncology practices in the Wake Forest NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) Research Base (NCT04208490) comparing HN-STAR to usual care during a routine clinic visit. Eligible disease-free survivors completed treatment for HNC <2 years prior. In both arms, prior to the visit, survivors completed validated ePROs for 25 concerns (symptoms, well-being, and health behaviors). Concerns were characterized as absent or mild vs. burdensome. The HN-STAR tool presented survivor’s burdensome concerns and tailored recommendations for clinician review during the visit. Clinicians selected management plans in HN-STAR for each concern. Post-visit, all survivors reported which concerns were discussed at the clinic visit (regardless of whether the concern was reported pre-visit). Comparisons between groups were made by mixed models adjusted for correlation within practices. We hypothesized that survivors in the HN-STAR arm would report 1) more concerns discussed, 2) more of their burdensome concerns discussed, and 3) a greater proportion of their burdensome concerns discussed, compared to survivors receiving usual care. Results: 335 survivors (mean age 64 years, 23% Hispanic or Non-White, 26% non-metropolitan) at 26 practices reported a mean of 7.7 burdensome concerns (standard deviation [sd] 4.6) pre-visit, most commonly dry mouth (71%), altered taste (54%), neck or shoulder stiffness (48%), and fatigue (40%). In adjusted models, survivors in the HN-STAR arm had a greater proportion of burdensome concerns discussed at the visit than survivors in the usual care arm (60% vs. 44%, p=0.01) (Table). Conclusions: In a large, national, diverse, and symptomatic sample of HNC survivors at community oncology practices, using an ePRO-informed clinical decision support tool increased the likelihood that burdensome concerns were discussed in clinic. Alerting providers to burdensome concerns and presenting guideline-concordant management options has promise for improving provider-survivor interactions. Clinical trial information: NCT04208490 . HN-STARN=136 Usual careN=199 p-value # concerns discussed, median (interquartile range [IQR]) 7.0 (4.0, 10.0) 5.0 (2.0, 9.0) 0.25 # burdensome concerns discussed, median (IQR) 4.0 (2.0, 7.0) 3.0 (1.0, 5.0) 0.10 Proportion of burdensome concerns discussed, mean (sd) 0.60 (0.32) 0.44 (0.32) 0.01
Authors
- Glenn Jay Lesser (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-5471-8907)
- Talya Salz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4515-6004)
- Thomas M. Atkinson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6244-9263)
- Jamie S. Ostroff (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2671-5680)
- Andrew Salner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3145-2953)
- Sujata Patil
- Anuja Kriplani (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-2608-8784)
- Kathryn E. Weaver (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9006-4064)
- Deborah Mayer
- Carol Kittel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4512-0634)
- Ryan T. Hughes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1548-9753)
- Kevin Charles Oeffinger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0806-7894)
- Emily V. Dressler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6054-7839)
- Sarah N. Price (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1622-1700)
- Sankeerth Jinna (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8478-5017)
- Chandylen L. Nightingale (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2275-9849)
Institutions
- Hartford Hospital (US)
- Cleveland Clinic (US)
- Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (US)
- Duke Medical Center (US)
- Duke Cancer Institute
- UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
- Wake Forest University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- JCO Oncology Practice
- Published
- 2025-10-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1200/op.2025.21.10_suppl.509
- Primary Topic
- Patient-Provider Communication in Healthcare
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00