Pooled Health Related Quality of Life Data: large databases and partnerships demonstrate their value at improving cancer care

Started in 2008, PROBE, Patient Reported Outcome and Behavioural Evidence, has reached a major milestone, now being reported. Gathering several archived cancer clinical trials provided by several stakeholders, PROBE demonstrates the added value of partnership in bringing therapeutic benefit to patients. PROBE has successfully gathered data from 30 clinical trials conducted between 1986 and 2004 including 10,874 patients over 11 cancer sites which bring together evidence for the role of patient -reported HRQOL assessments.

Mr. Efstathios Zikos (photo), first author, declares that “the use of closed international clinical trials holds great promises for understanding patients’s unmet psychosocial and HRQOL needs” and continues “with specific thanks to the Pfizer Foundation Health Partnership Program and King Baudoin Foundation without which this would not been possible”.

Dr Andrew Bottomley, Head of the Quality of Life Department at the EORTC Headquarters, states “the growth of the PROBE database continues and we invite other clinical researchers who have an interest in HRQOL research to work with us, join us, share data and increase the pool of data, so many more important questions can be addressed”.

Dr Denis Lacombe, EORTC Director General congratulates the authors and emphasizes “we are proud to see here the added value of multidisciplinary clinical research performed by independent organization like ours to deliver such critical knowledge to the immediate benefit of the patients” and acknowledges the “partnership of so many clinical research organisations having joined forced under a common goal and vision”.