Patient-reported physical functioning predicts the success of hematopoietic cell transplantation (BMT CTN 0902).

BACKGROUND: In hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), current risk adjustment strategies are based on clinical and disease-related variables. Although patient-reported outcomes (PROs) predict mortality in multiple cancers, they have been less well studied within HCT. Improvements in risk adjustment strategies in HCT would inform patient selection, patient counseling, and quality reporting. The objective of the current study was to determine whether pre-HCT PROs, in particular physical health, predict survival among patients undergoing autologous or allogeneic transplantation.

METHODS: In this secondary analysis, the authors studied pre-HCT PROs that were reported by 336 allogeneic and 310 autologous HCT recipients enrolled in the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network (BMT CTN) 0902 protocol, a study with broad representation of patients who underwent transplantation in the United States.

RESULTS: Among allogeneic HCT recipients, the pre-HCT Medical Outcomes Study Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36) physical component summary (PCS) scale independently predicted overall mortality (hazards ratio, 1.40 per 10-point decrease; P<.001 and="" performed="" at="" least="" as="" well="" currently="" used="" non-pro="" risk="" indices.="" survival="" probability="" estimates="" year="" for="" the="" first="" second="" third="" fourth="" quartiles="" of="" baseline="" pcs="" were="" respectively.="" early="" post-hct="" decreases="" in="" associated="" with="" higher="" overall="" treatment-related="" mortality.="" when="" adjusted="" patient="" variables="" included="" us="" stem="" cell="" therapeutic="" outcomes="" database="" model="" transplant="" center-specific="" reporting="" sf-36="" retained="" independent="" prognostic="" value.="">

CONCLUSIONS: PROs have the potential to improve prognostication in HCT. The authors recommend the routine collection of PROs before HCT, and consideration of the incorporation of PROs into risk adjustment for quality reporting.