Feasibility of Using Wearables for Home Monitoring during Radiotherapy for Head and Neck Cancer—Results from the OncoWatch 1.0 Study

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Wearables such as consumer smartwatches allow the home monitoring of, e.g., heart rate and physical activity, which may play a role in the clinical care of patients with cancer. Patients with head and neck cancer often experience side effects when they receive curatively intended radiotherapy and optimization of symptom monitoring is wanted. In general, the research on wearables for clinical care and symptom monitoring is limited but evolving. Prior studies have primarily used wrist-worn activity trackers and not the more advanced smartwatches. In the OncoWatch 1.0 study, we investigated the feasibility of using a smartwatch for monitoring heart rate and physical activity. Although adherence to using the smartwatch was lower than expected, we successfully established and tested a secure data setup and identified key elements to be considered in future studies. ABSTRACT: Background: Consumer wearables allow objective health data monitoring, e.g., of physical activity and heart rate, which might change over a cancer treatment course. Patients with head and neck cancer (HNC) receiving radiotherapy (RT) with curative intent typically experience side effects such as pain, decreased appetite, and dehydration, which may lead to hospitalizations. Therefore, health data monitoring could be important to understand a patient’s condition outside the hospital. The OncoWatch 1.0 study investigated the feasibility of using smartwatches for patients with HNC receiving RT. Methods: This study was a prospective, single-cohort feasibility study. The inclusion criteria were patients ≥ 18 years of age who planned to receive curatively intended radiotherapy for HNC. Consenting patients were asked to wear a smartwatch during RT and until two weeks after the end of RT. The primary endpoint was adherence. The secondary endpoints were data acquisition and variations in heart rate and physical activity. Results: Ten patients were included, with a median age of 62 years and eight males. The adherence rate for wearing the watch >12 h/d over the study period was 31%. The data acquisition rate was 61%. Conclusions: Although the primary endpoint was not reached, new knowledge has been established, including the secure data setup and key points that need to be addressed in future studies.