Ethan Basch, MD, MSc, director of the UNC Lineberger Cancer Outcomes Research Program, presented findings from a new study at the 2017 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting.

Basch and his colleagues found that cancer patients who reported their symptoms to their cancer care providers using a web–based survey lived five months longer than those patients who used standard reporting methods. The median overall survival benefit data were drawn from a Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center study that examined the impact of using computer surveys to communicate symptoms for patients with metastatic cancer.

“Symptom management is a cornerstone of high quality cancer care, and if we can control patients’ symptoms better, that’s a win, and it is meaningful in and of itself,” said Basch, who is also a professor in the UNC School of Medicine Division of Hematology & Oncology. “However, we have demonstrated that systematic monitoring of patient–reported outcomes is linked to quality–of–life improvements and fewer ER admissions, and people are actually living longer.”