Yonsei Cancer Center spotlights patient-reported outcomes to enhance cancer care

Yonsei Cancer Center held a symposium at the hospital on Sept. 26 to highlight the growing importance of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROM) in cancer treatment, emphasizing their role in bridging medical expertise with patients’ lived experiences.

PROM is a standardized tool that allows patients to directly report their own health status, including pain levels, fatigue, shortness of breath, anxiety, and overall quality of life.

Unlike conventional clinical assessments based on test results or imaging, PROM reflects the patient’s perspective, offering a more comprehensive picture of well-being.

To help physicians, nurses, and healthcare professionals better understand and apply PROM in daily practice, Yonsei Cancer Center organized two focused sessions.

The first session, “The concept of PROM and paradigm shift in clinical care,” was chaired by Lee Ik-jae, Vice President of Clinical Innovation at Severance Hospital.

Yonsei University Nursing Professor Lee Ji-yeon presented findings from a systematic literature review on how to select the most effective PROM questionnaires, while, Severance Hospital Urology Professor Han Hyun-ho discussed how PROM guided treatment decisions for prostate cancer patients, showing how quality-of-life assessments influenced clinical choices.

The second session, “Application of PROM in cancer patients and evaluation of quality of life,” was led by Yonsei Cancer Center Vice President Kim Yong-bae.

Presentations included Severance Hospital Psychiatry Professor Park Chang-il, who explained how PROM can strengthen therapeutic support for cancer patients struggling with depression and anxiety.

Yonsei Cancer Center Oncology Professor Kim Hye-ryun shared results from the KEYNOTE-604 study, which showed that immunotherapy improved not only survival but also patient satisfaction and symptom control.

Obstetrics and Gynecology Professor Lee Jung-yun presented findings from the MIRASOL trial, where PROM was used to compare quality-of-life outcomes between new antibody-drug conjugates and conventional therapies in ovarian cancer patients.

“PROM is not just a tool but a way for medical professionals to align with patients’ perspectives,” Yonsei Cancer Center General Director Choi Jin-sub said. “At Severance, where patient experience and satisfaction are our top priorities, this symposium has strengthened our commitment to moving closer to the hearts of our patients.”