Author Interviews, Cancer Research, Journal Clinical Oncology, University of Pittsburgh / 03.11.2020
How Well Does the “Surprise Question” Predict Mortality in Cancer Patients?
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Kristine Gade, MD
Hematology/Oncology Fellow
UPMC Hillman Cancer Center
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? Would you briefly describe the “surprise question”?
Response: Via Oncology Pathways, a cancer care platform used by UPMC and other institutions across the country, asks physicians to answer the surprise question – “Would I be surprised if this patient died in the next 12 months?” – whenever a new treatment plan is implemented. This question has been widely adopted by many oncology and palliative care frameworks and has been shown to be modestly predictive of mortality in multiple studies. We know that advanced cancer patients have a high utilization of the emergency department, even near end of life. Our group wanted to see if we could use the results of the surprise question to easily and quickly communicate to emergency department providers the expected prognosis for our advanced cancer patients. First, we set out to assess the surprise question’s ability to predict survival among our UPMC Hillman Cancer Center patients with select stage IV cancer diagnoses. (more…)