Xin Shelley Wang PRO Laboratory

The Translational Neuroscience department has decades of expertise in developing and using patient-reported outcomes (PROs) to characterize cancer-related and treatment-related symptoms and functional impairment during and after cancer therapy. Including PROs both in research and in the clinic is vital for understanding and incorporating the patient’s own voice and their perceptions about what they are experiencing.

Through quantitative prospective studies and qualitative research, Dr. Wang's research group focuses on symptoms, quality of life, and preferences for symptom control. Efforts include: 

• identifying clinically important symptom burden from disease or treatment
• developing electronic PRO-based pathways and methodological approaches that support PRO implementation in routine patient care
• investigating the impact of culture and language on symptom reporting
• using qualitative research methods to explore and understand the patient experience of disease and treatment
• measuring PRO-based physical and cognitive functioning and functional impairment
• understanding the effects of symptoms on families and caregivers of cancer patients
• surveying patients and health care professionals about their attitudes and practices related to symptom management at all stages of disease progression
• collaborating and consulting with clinical researchers on the use of PRO measures in their research and understanding the patient experience related to clinical interventions
• developing PRO questionnaires that are specific to disease type, procedure, and/or expected toxicities yet concise enough to produce minimum burden for patients and their care teams, and then validating these measures psychometrically in terms of sensitivity to change over time, validity, reliability and ability to predict the most clinically relevant symptoms among all that were assessed

We collaborate with UT MD Anderson principal investigators to investigate symptoms and toxicities in the clinical trial arena and in standard care — particularly PROs related to aggressive therapeutic approaches during the acute phase and in survivorship.

We are also exploring the effectiveness of technologies such as web-based patient portals like MyChart, tablet and phone apps, and telephone-based interactive voice response systems for collecting actionable, real-time symptom data from patients when they are at home or otherwise away from the hospital or clinic.

It is a well-known fact that patients undergoing cancer treatment experience potentially severe toxicities related to that treatment. Toxicity-related symptoms can have unknown trajectories over time and often have long-term adverse effects. Thus, clinically relevant PRO measures are necessary for close, real-time monitoring and early capture of symptoms, including symptomatic adverse effects as well as functional and cognitive impairment. We seek to understand the critical PROs that best characterize therapy-related symptom burden, establish the value of timely PRO monitoring for predicting the development of therapy-induced toxicities, and define the impact of cognitive and functional impairment on patient well being. Ultimately, we seek to improve clinical outcomes for patients, regardless of the type of treatment they are receiving.

In three decades of well-funded symptom research, UT MD Anderson's department of Symptom Research established an efficacious, standardized approach for symptom data collection and monitoring of patients across the cancer center as well as at remote sites. The department's new name, Translational Neuroscience, reflects an extended approach that incorporates modern computational techniques, such as AI-based decision aids. machine learning, computerized adaptive testing, and updated psychometric methodologies, to evaluate the effectiveness of PRO measures in clinical practice and develop strategies for improving their acceptability.

We are currently recruiting for leadership and staff positions in this area of research. Email Dr. Xin Shelley Wang to inquire.