Oncologic treatment support via a dedicated mobile app: a prospective feasibility evaluation (OPTIMISE-1)

Fabian A Schunn; Rami A El Shafie; Dorothea Kronsteiner; Lukas D Sauer; Andreas Kudak; Nina Bougatf; Dieter Oetzel; Anna Krämer; Sebastian Regnery; Timo Machmer; Jürgen Debus; Nils Henrik Nicolay

doi:10.1007/s00066-023-02166-7

Oncologic treatment support via a dedicated mobile app: a prospective feasibility evaluation (OPTIMISE-1)

Strahlenther Onkol. 2023 Nov 10. doi: 10.1007/s00066-023-02166-7. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Fabian A Schunn¹, Rami A El Shafie^{2

3}, Dorothea Kronsteiner⁴, Lukas D Sauer⁴, Andreas Kudak², Nina Bougatf², Dieter Oetzel², Anna Krämer², Sebastian Regnery², Timo Machmer⁵, Jürgen Debus^{2

6

7}, Nils Henrik Nicolay^{8

9}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Radiation Oncology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Im Neuenheimer Feld 400, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany. Fabian.Schunn@med.uni-heidelberg.de.
² Department of Radiation Oncology, Heidelberg University Hospital, Im Neuenheimer Feld 400, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany.
³ Department of Radiation Oncology, Göttingen University Hospital, Robert-Koch-Str. 40, 37075, Göttingen, Germany.
⁴ Institute for Medical Biometry (IMBI), Im Neuenheimer Feld 130.3, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany.
⁵ OPASCA GmbH, Mannheim, Germany.
⁶ National Center for Tumor diseases (NCT), Heidelberg, Germany.
⁷ Clinical Cooperation Unit Radiation Oncology, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg, Germany.
⁸ Department of Radiation Oncology, University Medical Center Freiburg, Robert-Koch-Straße 3, 79106, Freiburg, Germany.
⁹ German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), Partner Site Freiburg, German Cancer Research Center (dkfz), Im Neuenheimer Feld 280, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany.

PMID: 37947806
DOI: 10.1007/s00066-023-02166-7

Abstract

Background: Mobile health (mhealth) is gaining interest, with mobile devices and apps being ever more available among medical facilities and patients. However, in the field of radiation oncology, the medical benefits of mhealth apps are still underexplored. As an additional approach to patient care during radiotherapy, we designed a mobile treatment surveillance app based on patient-reported outcomes.

Objective: We aimed to examine the feasibility of app-based treatment surveillance in patients undergoing radiotherapy (RT). Alongside technical practicability and acceptance, we assessed patient satisfaction and quality of life during treatment.

Methods: This prospective single-center study was performed at Heidelberg University Hospital between August 2018 and January 2020. During RT we measured patients' quality of life, symptoms, and treatment satisfaction. Respective questionnaires (EORTC QLQ-C30 with diagnosis-specific modules, RAND PSQ-18) were presented to patients via a mobile app running on a designated tablet device. The primary endpoint was determined by the fraction of patients who completed at least 80% of the items. Secondary endpoints were disease-related quality of life and patient satisfaction.

Results: A total of 49 cancer patients (14 breast, 13 pelvic, 12 lung, 10 prostate) were eligible for analysis. 79.6% (95% confidence interval: 66.4-88.5%; n = 39) of all patients completed at least 80% of the items received by the mobile app. A mean of 227.5 ± 48.25 questions were answered per patient. Breast cancer patients showed the highest rate of answered questions, with 92.9% (n = 13) completing at least 80% of the items.

Conclusion: Patients showed high acceptance, with 79.6% (n = 39) completing at least 80% of the given items. The use of a mobile app for reporting symptoms and quality of life during RT is feasible and well accepted by patients. It may allow for resource-efficient, detailed feedback to the medical staff and assist in the assessment of side effects over time.

Keywords: Cancer; Patient-reported outcome measures; Quality of life; Radiotherapy; mhealth.