Background: Unsolicited patient feedback (compliments and complaints) should allow the healthcare system to address and improve individual and overall patient, family, and staff experiences. We evaluated feedback at a tertiary cancer centre to identify potential areas for optimizing care delivery. Methods: unsolicited feedback submitted to the Patient Relations Department, relating to the Divisions of Medical and Radiation Oncology, at the Ottawa Hospital, was analyzed. Results: Of 580 individual reports submitted from 2016 to 2022, patient demographics were available for 97% (563/580). Median patient age was 65 years (range 17–101), and 53% (301/563) were female. The most common cancer types were breast (127/545, 23%) and gastrointestinal (119/545, 22%) malignancies, and most (64%, 311/486) patients had metastatic disease. Feedback was submitted mainly by patients (291/579, 50%), and predominantly negative (489/569, 86%). The main reasons for complaints included: communication (29%, 162/566) and attitude/conduct of care (28%, 159/566). While feedback rates were initially stable, an increase occurred from 2019 to 2021. Conclusions: Unsolicited feedback remains mostly negative, and relates to physician communication. If we are to drive meaningful changes in care delivery, more standardized means of assessing feedback and implementation strategies are needed. In addition, in an era of increased healthcare provider burnout, strategies to enhance formal positive feedback are also warranted.

Treatment of platinum-refractory recurrent and metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (r/mHNSCC) involves immune-checkpoint inhibitors. Time toxicity (TT) is an emerging metric with implications for patient quality of life and decision-making. We sought to evaluate TT associated with nivolumab in these patients. This is a retrospective single-institution review of patients with platinum-refractory r/mHNSCC seen at an academic cancer center between 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2022 in Ontario, Canada. Primary outcome is TT, defined as any number of days spent undergoing cancer-related activities. Of 56 patients evaluated, median age was 63 years (33-85) and 84% were male. Median overall survival (OS) and grade 3 immune-toxicities were 7.6 months and 6.2%, respectively. Median TT was 24 days (1-109), accounting for 7.6% of OS. TT accounted for 14.9% of OS in poor responders. TT accounted for only 4-6% for patients who survived more than a year. Our study provides an important and underexplored patient-centered metric in TT, especially in the context of incurable HNSCC with abysmal survival outcome. Our findings suggest that TT varies significantly between responders and non-responders. Duration of TT should be discussed with patients in shared decision-making when discussing palliative nivolumab.

Despite evidence from clinical trials showing the efficacy of shorter durations of therapy, most HER2-positive early breast cancer (EBC) patients receive a year of anti-HER2 therapy. A survey of Canadian oncologists was conducted online, with electronic data collection, and the analysis is reported descriptively. Measures collected included current practices with respect to the duration of adjuvant anti-HER2 therapy, perspectives on data regarding shorter durations of treatment, and interest in further trials on this subject. Responses were received from 42 providers across Canada. Half (50%, 21/42) reported having never recommended 6 months of anti-HER2 therapy. The primary reason physicians consider a shorter duration is in response to treatment-related toxicities (76%, 31/41). Most participants (79%, 33/42) expressed the need for more data to determine which patients can be safely and effectively treated with shorter durations. Patient factors such as young age, initial stage, hormone receptor status, and type of neoadjuvant chemotherapy were attributed to reluctance to offer shorter durations of treatment. Many respondents (83%, 35/42) expressed interest in participating in the proposed clinical trial of 6 months of anti-HER2 therapy. In contemporary Canadian practice, 12 months of anti-HER2 therapy remains the primary practice. Future trials are required to better define the role of shorter treatment durations.