Patient-reported assessment of outcome after surgery for bone metastases

Abstract

Regardless of prognosis, surgery is often considered in metastatic bone disease (MBD) as a palliative procedure to improve function and quality of life. Traditional focus on objective outcomes such as mor-tality is inappropriate in this group, and there is a drive to assess outcomes via patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs). This is an overview of current understanding of MBD outcomes and how this should influence future decision-mak-ing and research. The objectives of this review were to identify difficulties in measuring PROMs in the MBD patient population and explore alternatives to patient-reported outcomes. We also provide an overview of current understanding of outcomes in MBD and how this should influence decision-making and direct research.-.