OncLive named UNC Lineberger’s Ethan Basch, MD, MSc, FASCO, as one of the 2024 Giants of Cancer Care for his pioneering research in the field of patient-reported outcomes. He and 14 other recipients were honored at a reception held May 30 in Chicago.
Basch has led national studies that demonstrated that monitoring and managing symptoms cancer patients experience while receiving care resulted in better care. One seminal study determined that patients who reported their symptoms in real-time using electronic device, known as ePRO, lived 5 months longer than did patients who did not use ePRO. They also had improved quality of life and fewer emergency room visits and hospitalizations. This was the first study to show that patient-reported outcomes could produce a survival benefit.
Basch is currently developing a multi-institutional initiative to implement ePRO in oncology practices across the country. Using $3 million in research support from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, Basch and his colleagues will assess the implementation process and the benefits of symptom monitoring with ePROs in real-world oncology practices. The researchers will also develop standard operating procedures for ePRO implementation – a critical need if the program is to be rolled out more broadly in the future.
Giants of Cancer Care celebrates the achievements of leading researchers and educators whose discoveries have helped propel the field of oncology and established the building blocks for future advances. Every year, a selection committee of more than 120 eminent oncologists, researchers and clinicians chooses honorees from several types of tumor and specialty categories.
“I feel grateful and humbled to be recognized by my peers. It’s gratifying to be part of a professional community that celebrates work across the disciplines in the service of our collective mission to improve the lives of people with cancer,” said Basch, the Richard M. Goldberg Distinguished Professor of Medicine and chief of the Division of Oncology at UNC School of Medicine and director of UNC Lineberger’s Cancer Outcomes Research Program.
“I have worked throughout my career on methods to improve control of symptoms and side effects during cancer treatment and drug development, and it is meaningful to know that my colleagues see value in this work.”
Basch is the third UNC Lineberger member to earn this honor. Hyman Muss, MD, and Charles M. Perou, PhD, were recognized as Giants of Cancer Care in 2017 and 2019, respectively.
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