Digital Health and Patient-Reported Outcomes in Cancer Care
A special issue of Cancers (ISSN 2072-6694). This special issue belongs to the section "Cancer Survivorship and Quality of Life".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2026 | Viewed by 20
Special Issue Editors
Interests: patient-reported outcome measures; early palliative care; pharmacotherapeutics
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Patient-reported outcome measures enhance early recognition of patient needs and treatment-related adverse effects, improving quality of life and communication and even extending survival. International evidence supports their routine use to identify individual patient concerns and drive care improvements. Digital health technologies are transforming oncology by enabling real-time data collection, remote monitoring, and integration of patient-reported outcome measures into routine care. These innovations offer an opportunity to shift aspects of routine hospital-based care into the community. By leveraging digital platforms, clinicians can capture meaningful insights into symptoms, quality of life, and treatment adherence, ultimately improving decision-making and enhancing the overall cancer care experience. However, gaps remain in our understanding of how to support optimal integration along cancer pathways and their impact on health inequities and care delivery.
This Special Issue of Cancers aims to expand the evidence base on the integration of digital patient-reported outcome measures into cancer care. We welcome manuscripts that address areas including, but not limited to, the following:
- Digital PROMs as part of routine care across the cancer trajectory: From diagnosis through active treatment, survivorship, and end-of-life care.
- Development and optimization of digital PROM content: Tailored for early and late effects across different cancer types.
- Guidelines for handling missing digital PROM data: To strengthen interpretation in real-world settings and clinical trials.
- Implementation strategies and digital engagement: Exploring uptake, adherence, and integration of digital PROMs into routine clinical workflows.
- Digital PROMs and health equity: Assessing the role of PROMs in reducing disparities and supporting shared decision-making.
- Digital PROMs in decentralized care models: Including remote monitoring and community-based research approaches.
Dr. Joanne Droney
Dr. Joy Ross
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cancers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- patient-reported outcome measures
- digital health
- remote symptom monitoring
- outcome-based healthcare
- health-related quality of life (HRQoL)
- shared decision-making
- real-world data collection
- data standardization
- health equity in digital health
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