CURRENT APPLICATIONS OF HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY-OF-LIFE ASSESSMENT IN ONCOLOGY

The past 5 years have seen increasing application of health-related qu ality-of-life (HRQOL) assessment in oncology. Most commonly, HRQOL has been studied in patients with metastatic cancer and in trials involvi ng the use of antiemetics to control postchemotherapy nausea and vomit ing. These studies have produced interesting and, in some cases, count erintuitive results. Thus far, HRQOL assessment appears to be importan t in clinical trials involving control of symptoms (disease-related or treatment-related), cancers with a poor prognosis, treatment arms wit h similar survivals, supportive care interventions, and ways of determ ining prognosis.