Loretta A. Williams, PhD, APRN, MSN, BSN, BA
Department of Technology Commercialization, Internal Medicine
About Dr. Loretta A. Williams
Lori Williams is interested in the measurement of symptoms, the use of qualitative research methods in the study of the patient experience of cancer and treatment, and the effects of symptoms on family caregivers of cancer patients. She has developed multiple patient-reported outcome measures.
With funding from the Oncology Nursing Society Foundation, Dr. Williams has developed patient-reported outcome measures (PROs) of symptom burden for patients with chronic graft-versus-host disease and patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. In addition, she has developed PRO assessments for symptoms related to chronic myeloid leukemia, gastrointestinal stromal tumors, acute myeloid leukemia, and myelodysplastic syndrome, supported by grants from pharmaceutical companies. She has participated in the development of PRO assessments of symptoms related to malignant pleural mesothelioma, gastrointestinal cancers, gastrointestinal obstructions, esophageal cancers, ovarian cancer, cervical cancer, and breast cancer, and for patients experiencing treatment-related peripheral neuropathy or symptom burden from SARS-CoV-19 infection. She has studied the impact of treatment interventions on patients with cancer and their family caregivers.
Dr. Williams is an Oncology Certified Nurse and Advanced Oncology Certified Nurse and has worked in oncology nursing for more than 40 years. She has served on the board of directors of the Oncology Nursing Society and the Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the Patient Advocate and National Patient Advocate Foundations.
Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Associate Professor, Department of Symptom Research, Division of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Dual/Joint/Adjunct Appointment
Adjunct Assistant Professor, The University of Texas School of Nursing, Houston, TX
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2005 | The University of Texas School of Nursing, Houston, TX, USA, PhD, Nursing |
| 1988 | The University of Texas School of Nursing, Houston, TX, USA, MSN, Oncology Nursing CNS |
| 1980 | St. Mary of the Plains College, Dodge City, KS, USA, BSN, Nursing |
| 1970 | University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, USA, BA, Psychology |
Board Certifications
| 1996 | Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation - Advanced Oncology Certified Nurse |
| 1986 | Oncology Nursing Certification Corporation - Oncology Certified Nurse |
Experience & Service
Institutional Committee Activities
Member, Cancer Survivorship Steering Committee, 2018 - Present
Executive Sponsor, Survey Governance Committee, 2018 - Present
Honors & Awards
| 1969 | Phi Beta Kappa, Alpha of Kentucky Chapter |
Professional Memberships
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Whisenant MS, Alexander A, Woodward WA, Teshome M, Ueno NT, Williams LA. Inflammatory breast cancer: understanding the patient experience. Cancer Nurs 47(1):E65-E72, 2024. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36729801.
- Williams LA, Whisenant MS, Mendoza TR, Peek AE, Malveaux D, Griffin DK, Ponce DA, Granwehr BP, Sheshadri A, Hutcheson KA, Ali SM, Peterson SK, Heymach JV, Cleeland CS, Subbiah IM. Measuring symptom burden in patients with cancer during a pandemic: the MD Anderson symptom inventory for COVID-19 (MDASI-COVID). J Patient Rep Outcomes 7(1):48, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37237077.
- Kamal M, Navai N, Bree KK, Williams LA, Cleeland CS, Shen SE, Wang XS. Validation and application of MD Anderson Symptom Inventory module for patients with bladder cancer in the perioperative setting. Cancers (Basel) 14(16), 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36010890.
- Whisenant MS, Williams LA, Mendoza T, Cleeland C, Chen TH, Fisch MJ, Shi Q. Identification of breast cancer survivors with high symptom burden. Cancer Nurs 45(4):253-261, 2022. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34608052.
- Whisenant MS, Srour SA, Williams LA, Subbiah I, Griffin D, Ponce D, Kebriaei P, Neelapu SS, Shpall E, Ahmed S, Wang XS. The unique symptom burden of patients receiving CAR T-cell therapy. Semin Oncol Nurs 37(6):151216, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 34629213.
- Sheikh IN, Miller J, Shoberu B, Andersen CR, Wang J, Williams LA, Mahadeo KM, Robert R. Using the MDASI-Adolescent for early symptom identification and mitigation of symptom impact on daily living in adolescent and young adult stem cell transplant patients. Children (Basel) 9(1), 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 35053644.
- Wang XS, Shi Q, Williams LA, Lillemoe HA, Chen TY, Gottumukkala V, Garcia-Gonzalez A, Malveaux D, Kamal M, Cleeland CS, Aloia TA. Development of a patient-reported outcome tool for assessing symptom burden during perioperative care in liver surgery: the MDASI-PeriOp-Hep. Eur J Oncol Nurs 52:101959, 2021. e-Pub 2021. PMID: 33964632.
- Whisenant MS, Bamidele O, Cleeland C, Williams LA. Preferences of individuals with cancer for patient-reported outcome measures. Oncol Nurs Forum 48(2):173-183, 2021. PMID: 33600396.
- Whisenant MS, Williams LA, Garcia Gonzalez A, Mendoza T, Shi Q, Cleeland C, Zhang J, Heymach J, Simon G. What do patients with non-small-cell lung cancer experience? Content domain for the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory for Lung Cancer. JCO Oncol Pract 16(10):JOP1900577, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32539654.
- Williams LA, Ginex PK, Ebanks GL, Ganstwig K, Ciccolini K, Kwong BK, Robison J, Shelton G, Strelo J, Wiley K, Maloney C, Moriarty KA, Vrabel M, Morgan RL. ONS Guidelines™ for cancer treatment-related skin toxicity. Oncol Nurs Forum 47(5):539-556, 2020. PMID: 32830806.
- Viswanathan A, Vedantam A, Williams LA, Koyyalagunta D, Abdi S, Dougherty PM, Mendoza T, Bassett RL, Hou P, Bruera E. Percutaneous cordotomy for pain palliation in advanced cancer: a randomized clinical trial study protocol. Neurosurgery 87(2):394-402, 2020. PMID: 32012217.
- Williams LA, Bruera E, Badgwell B. In search of the optimal outcome measure for patients with advanced cancer and gastrointestinal obstruction: a qualitative research study. Ann Surg Oncol 27(8):2646-2652, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32152776.
- Mendoza TR, Williams LA, Keating KN, Siegel J, Elbi C, Nowak AK, Hassan R, Cuffel B, Cleeland CS. Evaluation of the psychometric properties and minimally important difference of the MD Anderson Symptom Inventory for malignant pleural mesothelioma (MDASI-MPM). J Patient Rep Outcomes 3(1):34, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31209661.
- Williams LA, Garcia-Gonzalez A, Mendoza TR, Haq S, Cleeland CS. Concept domain validation and item generation for the Treatment-Induced Neuropathy Assessment Scale (TNAS). Support Care Cancer 27(3):1021-1028, 2019. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 30094731.
- Williams LA, Bohac C, Hunter S, Cella D. Patient and health care provider perceptions of cancer-related fatigue and pain. Support Care Cancer 24(10):4357-63, 2016. e-Pub 2016. PMID: 27207616.
- Williams LA, Agarwal S, Bodurka DC, Saleeba AK, Sun CC, Cleeland CS. Capturing the patient's experience: using qualitative methods to develop a measure of patient-reported symptom burden: an example from ovarian cancer. J Pain Symptom Manage 46(6):837-45, 2013. e-Pub 2013. PMID: 23615044.
- Williams LA, Yucel E, Cortes JE, Cleeland CS. Measuring symptoms as a critical component of drug development and evaluation in hematological diseases. Clin Invest 3(12):1127-38, 2013. PMID: 24910769.
- Cohen MZ, Williams L, Knight P, Snider J, Hanzik K, Fisch MJ. Symptom masquerade: understanding the meaning of symptoms. Support Care Cancer 12(3):184-90, 2004. e-Pub 2004. PMID: 14735337.
- Weiss RB, Rifkin RM, Stewart FM, Theriault RL, Williams LA, Herman AA, Beveridge RA. High-dose chemotherapy for high-risk primary breast cancer: an on-site review of the Bezwoda study. Lancet 355(9208):999-1003, 2000. PMID: 10768448.
Book Chapters
- Giralt SA, Williams LA.. High-dose therapy and posttransplantation symptom burden: striking a balance. In: Cancer Symptom Science: Measurement, Mechanisms, and Management. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge UK, 224-36, 2011.
- Williams LA, Syrjala KL. Psychosocial issues in chronic graft versus host disease. In: Chronic Graft Versus Host Disease: Interdisciplinary Management. Cambridge University Press: New York, 314-25, 2009.
- Williams L. The theory of caregiving dynamics. In: Middle Range Theory for Nursing. 2nd. Springer Publishing Company: New York, 261-76, 2008.
- McCarthy P, Williams L, Holmes M. Stem cell transplantation: past, present, and future. In: Stem Cell Transplantation: A Clinical Textbook. Oncology Nursing Press, Inc: Pittsburgh PA, 1.1-1.20, 2000.
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified April 17, 2024