Poster Presentation Clinical Oncology Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting 2026

PROpatient: A registry-based randomised controlled trial of symptom monitoring, using patient-reported outcome measures and centralised care coordination, to improve quality of life in patients with upper gastrointestinal cancers. (146589)

Liane J Ioannou 1 , Madeleine T King 2 , Jonathan Broder 1 , Charles HC Pilgrim 1 3 , Daniel Croagh 4 , Wendy Brown 1 3 , Kate White 2 , Jennifer Philip 5 6 , Sue Evans 7 , John R Zalcberg 1 3
  1. Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
  2. University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  3. Alfred Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
  4. Monash Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
  5. St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
  6. The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
  7. Victorian Cancer Registry, Cancer Council Victoria, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

Aims: Determine whether systematic management of symptoms, using patient-reported outcomes (PROs), integrated into clinical practice in real-time, via centralised care coordination, coupled with information support to participants, improves health-related quality of life (HRQL) for patients with pancreatic (PC) and oesophagogastric (OGC) cancers.

Methods: Participants with PC and OGC were recruited from the Upper Gastrointestinal Cancer Registry (UGICR). Eligibility criteria: English speaking; diagnosed with PC or OGC within 12-months of recruitment (6-months for metastatic PC); diagnosed, managed or treated at one of the 12 participating health services in Victoria, Australia. To participate in the study individuals (or their carers) required access to the internet and a computer, tablet, or smart phone.
Participants were randomised to the PROpatient intervention or usual care over a 12-month period. The primary outcome was HRQL measured using the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Utility – Core 10 Dimensions (EORTC-QLU-C10D) from baseline to 6-months post-randomisation. Trial data was linked with clinical data (UGICR) and hospital administrative data sets.

Results: Between January 2021 and May 2023, 423 patients were eligible for the trial. Of these, 197 (response rate 47%) were recruited, with 99 in the control arm and 98 in the intervention arm. Of those alive at 6-months (169), 80% completed the trial assessments. At 6-months, the intervention arm demonstrated a significantly greater improvement from baseline in HRQL than the control arm (mean difference in change from baseline 0.088, 95% CI 0.023, 0.152).

Conclusion: This innovative trial highlights the importance of symptom monitoring and care coordination on quality of life for individuals with PC and OGC. These cancers have a high symptom burden and dismal prognosis. It is critical that individuals with these cancers receive the best possible symptomatic control, while the search continues for treatments to improve survival.