The impact of routine Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS) use on overall survival in cancer patients: Results of a population‐based retrospective matched cohort analysis

BACKGROUND: The Edmonton Symptom Assessment System (ESAS) is a validated instrument whose use has been standardized in the Ontario cancer system to measure symptoms among ambulatory cancer patients. The objective was to examine the effect of ESAS exposure on overall survival. We hypothesized, a priori, that patients exposed to ESAS would have higher rates of overall survival than those who were not exposed. METHODS: This was a retrospective …