Abstract
Background Quality of life is an essential component of decision-making in veterinary oncology. Poor management
of adverse events during chemotherapy can impair dogs’ quality of life and be life-threatening. Consequently, clientreported outcome measures (CROMs) are being proposed to help assess both clinical signs and quality of life. The
purpose of this rapid review was to: (1) identify existing CROMs that have been used to assess dogs’ clinical signs and
quality of life during chemotherapy; and (2) evaluate their methodological development to inform adaptation or
development of a CROM for use in routine clinical practice, including remote monitoring. Databases (Scopus, Web of
Science, PUBMED/MEDLINE) were searched for CROMs (questionnaires) completed by a non-expert family member
about their companion dog. CROM content (domains measured) and scale quality were appraised.
Results Ten CROMs were identified and three were variations of the same tool. Content of the CROMs varied
considerably (range 3–17 domains) with gastrointestinal being the most frequently measured clinical sign cluster
(9/10 studies), followed by mobility/ambulatory activity (7/10) and global quality of life (6/10). No CROMs adhered to
quality standards for the development of questionnaires and most failed to include qualitative design methods and
basic psychometric assessment to ensure reliability and validity (such as internal consistency, test-retest reliability or
factor analysis).
Conclusion The validity and reliability of existing chemotherapy CROMs for dogs remains under-tested. Although
CROMs combined with remote digital monitoring have the potential to enhance patient care, as has been
demonstrated with physician-based oncology, there is a need to apply quality standards to ensure optimal validation.
Interdisciplinary collaborations would likely improve CROM quality and clinical utility thereby allowing veterinary
healthcare professionals to better support their patients.