The U.S. National Cancer Institute established the Cancer Outcomes Measurement Working Group in 2001 to evaluate measurements of the important and diverse impacts of cancer on individuals and populations. The findings and recommendations of the working group's 35 internationally recognized members provide alternative approaches for comprehensively measuring the burden of cancer and the effectiveness of preventive and therapeutic interventions.

Cancer screening is a prominent strategy in cancer control in the United States, yet the ability to correctly interpret cancer screening data eludes many researchers, clinicians, and policy makers. This open access primer rectifies that situation by teaching readers, in simple language and with straightforward examples, why and how the population-level cancer burden changes when screening is implemented, and how we assess whether that change is of benefit. This book provides an in-depth look at the many aspects of cancer screening and its assessment, including screening phenomena, performance measures, population-level outcomes, research designs, and other important and timely topics. Concise, accessible, and focused, Assessment of Cancer Screening: A Primer is best suited to those with education or experience in clinical research or public health in the United States - no previous knowledge of cancer screening assessment is necessary. This is the first text dedicated to cancer screening theory and methodology to be published in 20 years.

Cancer touches the lives of millions worldwide each year. This is reflected not only in well-publicized mortality statistics but also in the profound - though much more difficult to measure - effects of cancer on the health-related quality of life, economic status, and overall well-being of patients and their families. In 2001, the US National Cancer Institute established the Cancer Outcomes Measurement Working Group to evaluate the state of the science in measuring the important and diverse impacts of this disease on individuals and populations. The findings and recommendations of the working group's 35 internationally recognized members are reported in Outcomes Assessment in Cancer, lucidly written and accessible to both researchers and policy makers in academia, government, and industry. Originally published in 2005, this volume provides a penetrating yet practical discussion of alternative approaches for comprehensively measuring the burden of cancer and the effectiveness of preventive and therapeutic interventions.

This User’s Guide is intended to support the design, implementation, analysis, interpretation, and quality evaluation of registries created to increase understanding of patient outcomes. For the purposes of this guide, a patient registry is an organized system that uses observational study methods to collect uniform data (clinical and other) to evaluate specified outcomes for a population defined by a particular disease, condition, or exposure, and that serves one or more predetermined scientific, clinical, or policy purposes. A registry database is a file (or files) derived from the registry. Although registries can serve many purposes, this guide focuses on registries created for one or more of the following purposes: to describe the natural history of disease, to determine clinical effectiveness or cost-effectiveness of health care products and services, to measure or monitor safety and harm, and/or to measure quality of care. Registries are classified according to how their populations are defined. For example, product registries include patients who have been exposed to biopharmaceutical products or medical devices. Health services registries consist of patients who have had a common procedure, clinical encounter, or hospitalization. Disease or condition registries are defined by patients having the same diagnosis, such as cystic fibrosis or heart failure. The User’s Guide was created by researchers affiliated with AHRQ’s Effective Health Care Program, particularly those who participated in AHRQ’s DEcIDE (Developing Evidence to Inform Decisions About Effectiveness) program. Chapters were subject to multiple internal and external independent reviews.

Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are measures of how patients feel or what they are able to do in the context of their health status; PROs are reports, usually on questionnaires, about a patient's health conditions, health behaviors, or experiences with health care that individuals report directly, without modification of responses by clinicians or others; thus, they directly reflect the voice of the patient. PROs cover domains such as physical health, mental and emotional health, functioning, symptoms and symptom burden, and health behaviors. They are relevant for many activities: helping patients and their clinicians make informed decisions about health care, monitoring the progress of care, setting policies for coverage and reimbursement of health services, improving the quality of health care services, and tracking or reporting on the performance of health care delivery organizations. We address the major methodological issues related to choosing, administering, and using PROs for these purposes, particularly in clinical practice settings. We include a framework for best practices in selecting PROs, focusing on choosing appropriate methods and modes for administering PRO measures to accommodate patients with diverse linguistic, cultural, educational, and functional skills, understanding measures developed through both classic and modern test theory, and addressing complex issues relating to scoring and analyzing PRO data.

Palliative care provides comprehensive support for severely affected patients with any life-limiting or life-threatening diagnosis. To do this effectively, it requires a disease-specific approach as the patients’ needs and clinical context will vary depending on the underlying diagnosis. Experts in the field of palliative care and oncology describe in detail the needs of patients with advanced cancer in comparison to those with non-cancer disease and also identify the requirements of patients with different cancer entities. Basic principles of symptom control are explained, with careful attention to therapy for pain associated with either the cancer or its treatment and to symptom-guided antineoplastic therapy. Complex therapeutic strategies for palliative cancer patients are highlighted that involve both cancer- and symptom-directed options and address a range of therapeutic aims. Issues relating to drug use in palliative cancer care are fully explored, and a separate section is devoted to care in the final phase. A range of organizational and policy issues are also discussed, and the book concludes by considering likely future developments in palliative care for cancer patients. Palliative Care in Oncology will be of particular interest to palliative care physicians who are interested in broadening the scope of their disease-specific knowledge, as well as to oncologists who wish to learn more about modern palliative care concepts relevant to their day-to-day work with cancer patients.

This User’s Guide is a resource for investigators and stakeholders who develop and review observational comparative effectiveness research protocols. It explains how to (1) identify key considerations and best practices for research design; (2) build a protocol based on these standards and best practices; and (3) judge the adequacy and completeness of a protocol. Eleven chapters cover all aspects of research design, including: developing study objectives, defining and refining study questions, addressing the heterogeneity of treatment effect, characterizing exposure, selecting a comparator, defining and measuring outcomes, and identifying optimal data sources. Checklists of guidance and key considerations for protocols are provided at the end of each chapter. The User’s Guide was created by researchers affiliated with AHRQ’s Effective Health Care Program, particularly those who participated in AHRQ’s DEcIDE (Developing Evidence to Inform Decisions About Effectiveness) program. Chapters were subject to multiple internal and external independent reviews. More more information, please consult the Agency website: www.effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov)

Phase I trials are a critical first step in the study of novel cancer therapeutic approaches. As this title is the only comprehensive book on this topic, it is a useful resource for oncology trainees or specialists interested in understanding cancer drug development. New to this edition are chapters on Phase 0 Trials and Immunotherapeutics, and updated information on the process, pitfalls, and logistics of Phase I Trials.

This book provides up-to-date resources and examples of outcome measures, tools and methods that can be used by APNs in their quest to keep pace with new developments in the rapidly expanding field of outcome measurement. The chapter authors, recognized expert practitioners, offer invaluable insight into the process of conducting outcomes assessments in all APN practice, including the clinical nurse, nurse practitioner, certified registered nurse anesthetist and certified nurse midwife practice specialties. Detailed figures, tables, and examples of outcome studies from actual research in APN practice make this an essential resource for evaluating the true impact the advanced practice nurse has on the delivery and fulfillment of care.

This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC 4.0 International licence. It is free to read at Oxford Scholarship Online and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. Before new interventions are released into disease control programmes, it is essential that they are carefully evaluated in field trials'. These may be complex and expensive undertakings, requiring the follow-up of hundreds, or thousands, of individuals, often for long periods. Descriptions of the detailed procedures and methods used in the trials that have been conducted have rarely been published. A consequence of this, individuals planning such trials have few guidelines available and little access to knowledge accumulated previously, other than their own. In this manual, practical issues in trial design and conduct are discussed fully and in sufficient detail, that Field Trials of Health Interventions may be used as a toolbox' by field investigators. It has been compiled by an international group of over 30 authors with direct experience in the design, conduct, and analysis of field trials in low and middle income countries and is based on their accumulated knowledge and experience. Available as an open access book via Oxford Medicine Online, this new edition is a comprehensive revision, incorporating the new developments that have taken place in recent years with respect to trials, including seven new chapters on subjects ranging from trial governance, and preliminary studies to pilot testing.