Specificities and methodological research to assess supportive care in oncology

Supportive care (pharmacological or non-pharmacological) has a key role in promoting holistic care of cancer patients. As such, the evaluation of the effectiveness of pharmacological or non-pharmacological interventions should be based on clinical trials designed with optimal methodology like it was developed for the curative treatment. One of the binding limitations to the development of non-pharmacological supportive care is the assessment of their efficacy. It should be done in steps similar to the pharmacological development process: From Phase I to Phase III. The question of joint assessment of supportive care and potentially curative treatment is also a key methodological challenge needing to be investigated to study the interactions. Based on such a study, we will be able to offer personalized care to optimize treatment efficacy. Actually, there is no specific cancer guideline for the evaluation of supportive care. The complexity of the methodology required to carry out process to investigate the development of a dedicated structured framework as it was done with CONSORT and a multi-disciplinary partnership also involving patients.