Evaluation of health-related quality of life via the Computer-Based Health Evaluation System (CHES) for Japanese metastatic breast cancer patients: a single-center pilot study

BACKGROUND: The main purposes of metastatic breast cancer (MBC) treatment are to prolong survival and maintain health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Compliance with the HRQOL assessment can be poor, particularly among patients who receive long-term treatment. One possible solution to overcoming this problem is to engage in real-time home monitoring by having patients report outcomes on their personal electronic devices. The objective of this study was to investigate compliance with HRQOL monitoring from home among MBC patients using the Computer-Based Health Evaluation System (CHES) to collect patient data. METHODS: Sixteen MBC patients who received outpatient chemotherapy or endocrine therapy, both with and without targeted therapy, were recruited. One eligibility criterion was the availability of a personal electronic device with access to the Internet. Patients were asked to enter HRQOL ratings from their personal electronic devices via CHES once every week for 12 weeks. The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) Quality of Life Questionnaire-Core 30 (QLQ C30) was used to evaluate HRQOL. The outcome examined was the questionnaire collection rate. RESULTS: Six patients (37.5%) were treated with chemotherapy only, one (6.2%) with endocrine therapy only, three (18.8%) with a combination of chemotherapy and targeted therapy, and six (37.5%) with a combination of endocrine and targeted therapy. Median questionnaire collection rate for the total of 12 weeks was 84.6% (interquartile range 44.3–100). The reasons for missing data were worsening of disease, forgetting, and device malfunction. CONCLUSIONS: Compliance with electronic HRQOL data collection in this cohort was acceptable, considering the general ideal collection rate of 70–80%. We are conducting a prospective study to determine whether the use of CHES to input electronic real-time feedback of HRQOL ratings improves patients’ overall HRQOL.