Kudos to PhD student Matthew Leblanc and his mentor Sophia Smith for the submission of his American Cancer Society (ACS), Doctoral Degree Scholarship in Cancer Nursing application entitled "Symptom Burden and Quality of Life in Multiple Myeloma Patients." This proposal requests funding for a two-year period with a start date of July 1, 2019.

While multiple myeloma (i.e., myeloma) is an incurable cancer, new treatments within the last 15 years have led to impressive survival gains for patients living with the disease. Improved treatments have contributed to an overall mean survival of 5 years with extended survival to greater than 10 years for some groups of myeloma patients. However, this extended survival comes at a cost; patients are constantly on treatment as they consistently move onto to new therapies as previous therapies stop working. Symptoms caused by myeloma and its treatment have been shown to negatively impact patients’ lives. Research indicates that symptom burden, functional status, and quality of life (QoL) outcomes for individuals diagnosed with myeloma are near the worst among all cancer populations. In this era of constant and variable myeloma treatment, more needs to be understood about how longer-term survival coupled with continued disease and treatment side effects affect myeloma patients so that interventions can be developed to address their needs.

The objective of this project is to address critical gaps in knowledge by describing the relationship between myeloma and its treatment and patients’ symptom burden, functioning, and overall quality of life. More specifically, this project will: 1) establish one of the first US-based cohorts of myeloma patients; 2) characterize symptom burden; and 3) identify personal and disease characteristics that are associated with symptom burden, functional status, and QOL through the mailing of questionnaires to myeloma patients who are receiving care at the Duke Cancer Institute. Advanced statistical methods will be employed to identify personal and disease characteristics that are associated with poor outcomes.

Identifying patient needs is a necessary first step in improving clinical care and will likely lead to better allocation of resources and the design and development of nurse-led interventions. By generating knowledge of symptoms in persons with advanced illness, this study would further the mission and strategic goals of the American Cancer Society and aligns with the National Cancer Institute Moonshot recommendations. It is expected that these findings will have implications for future research, intervention development, and clinical practice. In addition, the established cohort would facilitate future explorations and collaborations and lay the foundation for this applicant’s program of research in cancer symptom science.