The Symptom Management and Health-Related Quality of Life Steering Committee (SxQoLSC) was established in 2006. At monthly meetings, the SxQoLSC addresses the design, prioritization and evaluation of concepts for clinical trials to control cancer symptoms and cancer treatment side effects.
The core committee membership includes representatives from the NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) Research Bases, R01 investigators, community oncologists, biostatisticians, patient advocates and NCI Staff. View the SxQoLSC member roster as of November 7, 2025.
Committee Activities
- Evaluates and prioritizes symptom management intervention clinical trial concepts, including those with primary quality-of-life (QoL) endpoints, to be conducted through the NCORP mechanism
- Evaluates studies with co-primary QoL endpoints in NCTN Group treatment studies
- Develops criteria for concepts that are eligible for proposed Biomarker, Imaging, and Quality of Life Studies Funding Program (BIQSFP) funds
- Convenes clinical trial planning meetings (CTPMs) to identify critical questions and prioritize key strategies related to side effects of cancer, cancer treatment and patients’ quality of life
Committee Highlights
The following are highlights from recent committee activities:
- Cancer-Related Cognitive Impairment
The cognitive effects from both the cancer and its treatment are frustrating for patients and can interfere with many aspects of overall quality of life including daily functioning, the ability to perform at work, achieve education goals, and interact socially. Sessions of this March 2021 CTPM reviewed the state of the science and current trials to develop recommendations for one or more clinical trial(s) that would represent the needed next step in cancer-related cognitive impairment research. Read the executive summary from the meeting. - Chemotherapy Induced Peripheral Neuropathy: Developing Novel Trials Informed by Translational Science. This CTPM was convened in March 2017 to develop recommendations for one or more clinical trial(s) in chemotherapy induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) with emphasis on utilizing informative biomarkers that will advance knowledge of its underlying mechanisms. Read the executive summary and publication in JNCI.
- Building Bridges: The Identification of Core Symptoms and Health Related Quality of Life (HRQOL) Domains for use in Cancer Research
This CTPM was convened in September 2011 to address the need for a universally recognized standard set of patient reported outcome (PRO) domains to routinely be collected in clinical trials. Read the executive summary and the following publications that are important outcomes of this meeting:- Patient-reported symptoms to measure in adult cancer treatment trials; JNCI
- Patient-reported symptoms and Quality-of-Life domains to measure in ovarian cancer treatment trials; JNCI
- Patient-reported symptoms to measure in head and neck cancer treatment trials; JNCI
- Patient-reported symptoms to measure in prostate cancer treatment trials; JNCI
- Core symptom measures in cancer clinical trials; JNCI
Contact
For more information, contact NCI CCCT Program Director, Mehrdad Mohseni, M.D. at mehrdad.mohseni@nih.gov.