Oxford Cancer Immunotherapy - Burden of Treatment (OxCI-BT)
A targeted patient-reported outcome (PRO) tool that assesses the treatment burden experienced by adult cancer patients undergoing immunotherapy. As a unidimensional measure, OxCI-BT offers clear insights into how treatment impacts everyday life, supporting informed decision-making in cancer care.
Background
Immunotherapy is transforming cancer treatment across oncological and haematological malignancies, yet its intensity, complexity, and cumulative side effects can impose a significant burden on patients. The Oxford Cancer Immunotherapy – Burden of Treatment (OxCI-BT) was designed to quantify this aspect of care, measuring patient-reported treatment burden through a focused and efficient tool.
OxCI-BT was developed alongside its companion measure, the Oxford Cancer Immunotherapy – Quality of Life (OxCI-QoL). While OxCI-QoL assesses quality of life across three domains - living a normal life, emotional wellbeing, and immuno-oncology side effects and symptoms, OxCI-BT provides a focused assessment of burden of treatment.
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The PRO
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Respondents: Adult patients (primary), with clinician input in some contexts
Assessment Domain:
- Burden of Treatment (unidimensional)
Number of Items: 9
Recall Period: 4 weeks
Response scales: 5 item Likert scale.
Estimated Completion Time: ~2 minutes
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Development
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The OxCI-BT followed a rigorous development process:
- Initial Framework: Hypothesised conceptual framework developed from literature and clinical experience
- Instrument Drafting: Adjusted conceptual framework informed a draft of the COA instrument
- Validation: Confirmed conceptual framework and evaluated measurement properties through data collection, analysis, and interpretation
- Language: Originally developed in UK English
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Scoring system
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Built upon a confirmed conceptual framework, defined scoring rule enables consistent interpretation across contexts.
For further details, please see relevant literature within the dossier extracts.
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Administration methods
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The OxCI-BT was initially developed to be used in clinical environments, research trials or outpatient follow-ups via paper and pen completion by patients; however clinicians may assist as needed.
OxCI-BT is used in the My Melanoma study, migrating the PROM to an electronical delivery to use in the digital trial. Digital reproduction guidance is available for those wishing to migrate the conventional paper-pen version into a digital questionnaire platform.
Indication:
Cancer treated with immunotherapy
Research Team:
Rebecca Wiltshire
Professor Michele Peters
Professor Mark Middleton
Useful Links:
Oxford University, Department of Oncology
Key References:
Date Added:
28/08/2026