Enhanced Outpatient Symptom Management to Reduce Acute Care Visits Due to Chemotherapy-Related Adverse Events

Launched by M.D. ANDERSON CANCER CENTER · Sep 3, 2021

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

This clinical trial is exploring whether enhanced outpatient symptom management using telemedicine and remote monitoring can help patients with certain types of advanced cancers avoid unnecessary trips to the emergency room or hospital due to issues related to chemotherapy. The goal is to see if this approach can lead to better overall health outcomes, such as fewer symptoms, improved quality of life, and fewer delays in treatment compared to standard care.

To be eligible for this trial, participants must be adults over 18 who speak English or Spanish and are scheduled to start or continue outpatient chemotherapy at specific hospitals in Texas. Caregivers are also welcome to participate if the patient allows it. However, individuals undergoing certain experimental treatments or those with specific health conditions that could prevent them from reporting their symptoms will not be included. Participants can expect to receive additional support through telemedicine, which means they can communicate with their healthcare team remotely, making it easier to manage their symptoms and receive timely care.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• • Adults (≥ 18 years)
• • English- and Spanish-fluent participants with thoracic and/or gastrointestinal cancers who are scheduled to initiate or continue outpatient chemotherapy at either MDACC (Texas Medical Center campus and any Houston-area location) or MDACC oncology clinic at Lyndon B Johnson (LBJ) hospital
• • Their adult (≥18 years) patient-identified or self-identified primary caregivers (MDACC only)
• • Participants on combination chemotherapy and immunotherapy or combination chemotherapy and biologic will also be eligible for inclusion.
• • Participants may participate if they do not have a caregiver, or if their caregiver declines participation; however, caregivers of MDACC participants may participate only if the participant consents.
• Exclusion Criteria:
• • Participants who are receiving investigational new drug treatments or concurrently enrolled in a phase 1 clinical trial will be excluded due to the associated structured reporting and regulatory requirements.
• • Participants with a requirement for inpatient infusion (i.e. CAR-T cell therapy), living in institutional settings (i.e. prison, nursing homes), with a history of dementia, physical disability or neurological deficits that prohibit ability to report symptom burden will also be excluded.