Abstract B042: Feasibility of an electronic medical records based ovarian cancer symptom screening patient questionnaire

• Published in: Cancer research (Chicago, Ill.) Vol. 84; no. 5_Supplement_2; p. B042
• Main Authors: Behbakht, Kian, Nguyen, Cam, Rotholz, Stephen, Guntupalli, Saketh, Goff, Barbara, Bitler, Benjamin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 04.03.2024
• DOI: 10.1158/1538-7445.OVARIAN23-B042
• ISSN: 1538-7445

Abstract Objectives: Symptoms occur in 75% of women with early-stage ovarian cancer and are also common in the absence of cancer. We report the feasibility and results of a prospective four-question symptom screen applied to a gynecology preventive care visit. Methods: Starting February 2021, a patient-facing questionnaire was added to the electronic medical records for women requesting routine gynecology visit. The question asks patients if they have had any of the following symptoms for more than two weeks duration in the prior year: bloating, difficulty eating or feeling full soon after eating, pelvic or abdominal pain, or trouble with urination. In September 2021, the response “No symptoms” was added. Questionnaire responses, medical history and work up performed +/- 3 months of the preventive gynecologic visit were extracted from electronic medical records, compiled in REDCap, and analyzed using R. Results: Between February 2021 and November 2022, a total of 498 patients completed the questionnaire (72.7% White, 10.2% Black, 7.0% Asian/Pacific Islander, 9.8% Other, and 0.2% not stated). The median age was 50 years (range: 40-86). Nearly half (47.2%) reported at least one symptom. The most common isolated single symptom was urinary urgency or frequency (22.9%); 12.3% of these patients had a urinary tract infection. The least common single symptom was early satiety (8.8%). 12 patients (2.4%) reported all four symptoms, and most had explanatory existing diagnoses such as endometriosis, adenomyosis or chronic pelvic pain. No cancers have been diagnosed to date. Conclusions: Ovarian cancer symptom-based screening using electronic medical records is feasible, but alone may not be clinically beneficial. Patients reporting three or more symptoms were 6.6% of the respondents and may represent an ideal group for focused ovarian cancer screening efforts and selective enrolment to novel imaging/tumor marker and proximate fluid analyses. Citation Format: Kian Behbakht, Cam Nguyen, Stephen Rotholz, Saketh Guntupalli, Barbara Goff, Benjamin Bitler. Feasibility of an electronic medical records based ovarian cancer symptom screening patient questionnaire [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Ovarian Cancer; 2023 Oct 5-7; Boston, Massachusetts. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(5 Suppl_2):Abstract nr B042.