Sylvester Cancer Center Launches OncoPRO Real-Time Symptom Monitoring Program

As cancer care becomes more complex with the rapid expansion of immunotherapy and early-phase clinical trials, understanding how patients are doing between visits is no longer optional. It is essential to safety, outcomes and the future of precision oncology. At Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, that need led to the development of OncoPRO, a next-generation symptom monitoring program designed to detect problems earlier, strengthen patient safety and deliver more responsive, data-driven cancer care.

OncoPRO builds on Sylvester's pioneering immune-related adverse event (irAE) monitoring initiative, launched in 2022 as a web-based, multidisciplinary clinic led by the director of cutaneous oncology services at Sylvester. The program established a collaborative approach to managing immunotherapy side effects by recognizing that timely symptom detection can mean the difference between manageable toxicity and serious harm.

OncoPRO advances this model by embedding patient-reported outcomes captured by the National Cancer Institute (NCI)-created Patient-Reported Outcomes version of the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (PRO-CTCAE) directly into MyUHealthChart, the health system's electronic medical record. The PRO-CTCAE is a patient-facing assessment of symptoms and toxicities that can be delivered in real-time and beyond the confines of a clinic visit. This integration transforms symptom tracking from a parallel process into a core component of clinical care, creating a continuous, real-time feedback loop between patients and their care teams.

Integrating OncoPRO into EPIC was described as a natural progression that enables earlier identification and more consistent management of immunotherapy toxicities, improving trial safety and reducing preventable hospitalizations, emergency visits and even deaths.

OncoPRO enables patients to report symptoms as they occur rather than recalling them weeks later. Phase 1 and phase 2 trial patients receive structured symptom questionnaires every two weeks through MyUHealthChart, with responses flowing directly into the medical record. When predefined safety thresholds are crossed, best practice alerts prompt immediate review and intervention.

The immediacy is critical when therapies can escalate from mild symptoms to serious toxicities very quickly, thus allowing the clinicians to modify treatments as needed and prevent adverse events or treatment discontinuation.

By making symptom reporting routine and structured, OncoPRO transforms monitoring from a passive, visit-based task into an active partnership between patients and clinicians. It removes guesswork about what is important enough to report, automatically flagging clinically meaningful symptoms and reassuring patients that their concerns are seen and addressed.

This early signal detection is central to OncoPRO's impact. Subtle changes like fatigue that worsens, gastrointestinal symptoms that persist or early immune-related effects can be identified before they become emergencies. Clinicians can adjust treatment, initiate supportive care or bring patients in sooner, often preventing hospitalizations or treatment interruptions.

OncoPRO strengthens the safety of clinical trials, enhancing data capture and reporting, and advances a more responsive, patient-centered model of care aligned with the future of oncology.

OncoPRO is a cornerstone of Sylvester's broader strategy to advance tech-enabled survivorship and supportive care. The platform complements ongoing initiatives, including a U01-funded research effort and the work of the survivorship team, all focused on improving outcomes through innovation, data integration and patient-centered design. OncoPRO demonstrates how digital infrastructure can bridge research and clinical operations and align oncology, survivorship and clinical trials around shared priorities of safety, quality and patient experience.