Using Patient-Reported Outcome Measures to Identify Mobility Limitation in Incurable Cancer.
Carmine Petrasso, Joanne Bayly, Stephen Ashford and 3 others
PMID 42769744WHAT IT FOUND
A single-item symptom question closely tracks detailed mobility difficulty in incurable cancer.
Younger patients reported worse mobility than older patients with similar clinical status. Use patient-reported scores to spot mobility issues that standard clinical ratings may miss.
Key findings
01A single-item measure of how much symptoms bother the patient showed a positive association with a detailed mobility questionnaire, supporting its use as a quick screen.
02Combining the two measures identified five graded levels of mobility difficulty, with patients using mobility devices increasing from 22.9% in the no-difficulty group to 77.1% in the overwhelming-difficulty group.
03Younger participants were overrepresented in the groups reporting greater mobility difficulty, challenging the assumption that older patients always have worse function.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot show how mobility changes over time or whether these profiles predict future outcomes. Mobility was assessed only by patient report. No physical tests, such as gait speed or sit-to-stand, were performed, so it is unclear whether reported difficulty reflects actual physical capacity, perceived burden, or both. The sample was restricted to patients with a performance status of 2 or 3, which limits how much the results apply to patients who are either more independent or more severely ill. The regression analyses were exploratory and involved many predictors relative to the number of participants in some groups, so the findings about age and cancer type should be treated with caution.
Declared interests
The investigators reported no financial or nonfinancial disclosures related to this project.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the five mobility profiles as distinct clinical subgroups. They represent a graded spectrum of severity derived from two correlated measures, not separate types of mobility limitation. Additionally, the lack of significant differences in self-care, participation, and quality of life across mobility profiles should not be read as proof that mobility problems do not affect these areas. It may reflect measurement limitations or the restricted range of function in this specific patient group.