Oesophageal Cancer (update of QLQ-OES18 and potential merge with QLQ-OG25)

This project seeks to update and potentially merge two existing EORTC quality of life (QoL) questionnaires for oesophageal and gastro-oesophageal junction (GOJ) cancers — the QLQ-OES18 and QLQ-OG25. Since their development in 2003 and 2007, significant advances in cancer treatments, including immunotherapy and minimally invasive surgery, have changed patient experiences and outcomes. The current modules may no longer fully capture relevant QoL issues, particularly given the blurred clinical boundaries between oesophageal, GOJ, and gastric cancers. The project aims to streamline existing tools to ensure global consistency and applicability across treatment settings.

The study is being conducted in two phases over 20 months, beginning in September 2025. Phase 1 involves systematic literature reviews and qualitative interviews with patients and healthcare professionals across multiple countries, to identify new QoL issues linked to modern treatments. Phase 2 will use these findings in consensus meetings to refine and develop updated questionnaires, in close alignment with the ongoing QLQ-STO22 module update for stomach cancer. The project will produce updated item lists, and published recommendations on the potential merger and use of the oesophageal modules. Ultimately, the project aims to provide clear, evidence-based guidelines and validated tools that improve the assessment of QoL and treatment impact in clinical trials and routine care for patients with oesophageal cancers

The project has just been initiated (September 2025).

Current status:

Currently, the team are conducting systematic literature reviews to answer certain research questions, prior to undertaking any participant recruitment.

September 2025: Project commenced.

September 2026: Systematic reviews to be concluded. Ethics approvals to be in place. Participant enrollment to commence.

NOTE

We are keen to identify new collaborators on the project who are from regions with a high incidence of oesophageal cancer – particularly East Asia, South Asia, and East Africa – and who have capacity to recruit participants to our study.

This project will update questionnaires that measure quality of life for people with oesophageal cancers. The current questionnaires (developed in 2003 and 2007) may miss important issues because cancer treatments have changed a lot in recent years, with new drugs, combined therapies, and less invasive surgery.

Researchers want to bring these quality of life questionnaire up to date with modern practice. To do this, they will review prior studies and speak directly with patients and healthcare professionals in several countries. The aim is to capture what really matters to patients during and after treatment in the modern age.

The work will take about 20 months, starting in 2025, and will involve international collaboration. In the end, doctors and researchers will have updated tools to better understand patients’ experiences and side effects, which will improve both cancer research and everyday care.