Developing, Piloting and Evaluating a Patient Support Portal for Men With Prostate Cancer in Victoria: An Action Research Study.

Introduction: Men with prostate cancer (PCa) and their support providers face challenges in accessing high-quality, impartial information tailored to their specific needs to enhance their overall care and decision-making. We describe the development, piloting and evaluation of the co-designed web portal 'BroSupPORT'.

Methods: IT teams developed and integrated BroSupPORT into the Victorian Prostate Cancer Outcomes Registry (PCOR-Vic) electronic patient-reported outcome follow-up process.

ImpACT Project: Improving Access to Clinical Trials in Victoria, an Artificial Intelligence-Based Approach.

Purpose: Enhancing the speed and efficiency of clinical trial recruitment is a key objective across international health systems. This study aimed to use artificial intelligence (AI) applied in the Victorian Cancer Registry (VCR), a population-based cancer registry, to assess (1) if VCR received all relevant pathology reports for three clinical trials, (2) AI accuracy in auto-extracting information from pathology reports for recruitment, and (3) the number of participants approached for trial enrollment using the AI approach compared with standard hospital-based recruitment.

Methods: To verify pathology report accessibility for VCR trial enrollment, reports from the laboratory were cross-referenced.

Evaluating Health and Well-Being Returns on Investment in a Cancer Biobank.

To evaluate the population health returns from investment in the Victorian Cancer Biobank (VCB), a research consortium including five hospital-integrated sample repositories located in Melbourne, Australia. This economic evaluation assigned monetary values to the health gains attributable to VCB-supported research. These were then compared with the total investment in VCB infrastructure since inception (2006-2022) to determine the return on investment (ROI).

Optimising Patient Outcomes in Tongue Cancer: A Multidisciplinary Approach.

A multidisciplinary approach to the management of tongue cancer is vital for achieving optimal patient outcomes. Nursing and allied health professionals play essential roles within the team. We developed symposia comprising a series of online lectures offering a detailed perspective on the role each discipline and consumer perspective has in the management of patients with tongue cancer.

Registry-derived stage (RD-Stage) for capturing stage at diagnosis for pancreatic carcinoma in Australia.

Introduction: Stage of pancreatic carcinoma at diagnosis is a strong prognostic indicator of morbidity and mortality, yet is poorly notified to population-based cancer registries ("cancer registries"). Registry-derived stage (RD-Stage) provides a method for cancer registries to use available data sources to compile and record stage in a consistent way. This project describes the development and validation of rules to capture RD-Stage (pancreatic carcinoma) and applies the rules to data currently captured in each Australian cancer registry.

Do age at diagnosis, tumour thickness and tumour site explain sex differences in melanoma survival? A causal mediation analysis using cancer registry data.

Women diagnosed with melanoma have better survival than men, but little is known about potential intervention targets to reduce this survival gap by sex. We conducted a population-based study using Victorian Cancer Registry data including 5833 women and 6780 men aged 15 to 70 years when diagnosed with first primary melanoma between 2007 and 2015. Deaths to the end of 2020 were identified through linkage to the Victorian and national death registries.

Barriers and enablers of active surveillance for prostate cancer: a qualitive study of clinicians.

Objectives: To identify and explore barriers to, and enablers of, active surveillance (AS) in men with low-risk prostate cancer (LRPCa), as perceived by PCa clinicians.

Patients And Methods: Urologists and radiation oncologists in Australia and New Zealand were purposively sampled for a cross-section on gender and practice setting (metropolitan/regional; public/private). Using a grounded theory approach, semi-structed interviews were conducted with participants.

Qualitative results from a randomized pilot study of eHealth Mindful Movement and Breathing to improve gynecologic cancer surgery outcomes.

Purpose: Improved management of pain and co-morbid symptoms (sleep disturbances, psychological distress) among women undergoing surgery for suspected gynecologic malignancies may reach a population vulnerable to chronic pain.

Participants: Women undergoing surgery for a suspected gynecologic malignancy.

Method: We conducted a pilot randomized controlled trial of eHealth Mindful Movement and Breathing (eMMB) compared to an empathic attention control (AC).

Factors beyond diagnosis and treatment that are associated with return to work in Australian cancer survivors-A systematic review.

Return to work (RTW) is a marker of functional recovery for working-age cancer survivors. Identifying factors that impact on RTW in cancer survivors is an essential step to guide further research and interventions to support RTW. This systematic review aimed to identify nontreatment, non-cancer-related variables impacting RTW in Australian cancer survivors.

Characteristics of patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer who access palliative care: An observational study.

Purpose: Despite the benefits of palliative care (PC) in pancreatic cancer, little is known about patients who access PC. This observational study examines the characteristics of patients with pancreatic cancer at their first episode of PC.

Methods: First-time, specialist PC episodes captured through the Palliative Care Outcomes Collaboration (PCOC), in Victoria, Australia between 2014 and 2020, for pancreatic cancer, were identified.

Developing an Australian Melanoma Clinical Outcomes Registry (MelCOR): a protocol paper.

Introduction: Australia has the highest incidence of melanoma in the world with variable care provided by a diverse range of clinicians. Clinical quality registries aim to identify these variations in care and provide anonymised, benchmarked feedback to clinicians and institutions to improve patient outcomes. The Australian Melanoma Clinical Outcomes Registry (MelCOR) aims to collect population-wide, clinical-level data for the early management of cutaneous melanoma and provide anonymised feedback to healthcare providers.

Twenty years of melanoma in Victoria, Queensland, and South Australia (1997 - 2016).

Background: Given the high incidence of melanoma in Australia alongside high mortality with later stage disease, we investigated the populations and locations most at risk, to optimise public health activities in areas where intervention is most needed. This study examines trends and identifies significant prognostic factors and potential disparities in incidence, mortality and survival between population groups in Victoria, Queensland and South Australia.

Methods: The analysis includes data from the population-based cancer registries of the three states over a twenty-year period (1997-2016).

Development of an Australia and New Zealand Lung Cancer Clinical Quality Registry: a protocol paper.

Introduction: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality, comprising the largest national cancer disease burden in Australia and New Zealand. Regional reports identify substantial evidence-practice gaps, unwarranted variation from best practice, and variation in processes and outcomes of care between treating centres. The Australia and New Zealand Lung Cancer Registry (ANZLCR) will be developed as a Clinical Quality Registry to monitor the safety, quality and effectiveness of lung cancer care in Australia and New Zealand.

Impact of delay from transperineal biopsy to radical prostatectomy upon objective measures of cancer control.

Objective: Treatment delays in prostate cancer have been characterised, although not explicitly in men undergoing transperineal prostate biopsies. We aimed to determine if delays to radical prostatectomy correlate with adverse outcomes using a contemporary population-based cohort of men diagnosed by transperineal biopsies.

Methods: This study analysed men with prostate cancer of the International Society for Urological Pathology grade group ≥2, diagnosed by transperineal prostate biopsies who underwent prostatectomy, using the prospectively data from 1 January 2014 to 30 June 2018 Prostate Cancer Outcomes Registry-Victoria.

Mapping disadvantage: identifying inequities in functional outcomes for prostate cancer survivors based on geography.

Background: Prostate cancer is the most common internal malignancy in Australian men, and although most patients have good survival outcomes, treatment toxicities can impair function, leading to diminished quality of life for prostate cancer survivors. Socioeconomic disadvantage and geographical remoteness have been shown to be related to worse oncologic outcomes, and it is expected that they would similarly influence functional outcomes in prostate cancer.

Methods: Using data from the Victorian Prostate Cancer Outcomes Registry (n = 10,924), we investigated functional outcomes as measured by the Expanded Prostate Cancer Index Composite-26 (EPIC-26) following prostate cancer treatment, focusing on associations with socioeconomic status and geographical remoteness and controlling for clinicopathologic characteristics.

Prognostic models to predict survival in patients with pancreatic cancer: a systematic review.

Background: Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) has poor survival. Current treatments offer little likelihood of cure or long-term survival. This systematic review evaluates prognostic models predicting overall survival in patients diagnosed with PDAC.

Disparities in quality of life, social distress and employment outcomes in Australian cancer survivors.

Purpose: To examine how socio-demographic, comorbidities and information needs influence quality of life (QoL) outcomes of survivors of breast, colorectal, or prostate cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma or melanoma.

Methods: Cross-sectional postal survey with eligible participants identified through a population-based cancer registry. QoL outcomes were assessed by EQ-5D-5L, social difficulties index (SDI) and, for those employed at diagnosis, current employment.

Pancreatic cancer survival by stage and age in seven high-income countries (ICBP SURVMARK-2): a population-based study.

Background: The global burden of pancreatic cancer has steadily increased, while the prognosis after pancreatic cancer diagnosis remains poor. This study aims to compare the stage- and age-specific pancreatic cancer net survival (NS) for seven high-income countries: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, and United Kingdom.

Methods: The study included over 35,000 pancreatic cancer cases diagnosed during 2012-2014, followed through 31 December 2015.

A qualitative investigation of the supportive care experiences of people living with pancreatic and oesophagogastric cancer.

Background: Pancreatic and oesophagogastric (OG) cancers have a dismal prognosis and high symptom burden, with supportive care forming an integral component of the care provided to patients. This study aimed to explore the supportive care experiences of patients and caregivers living with pancreatic and OG cancers in order to identify perceived opportunities for improvement.

Methods: Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with people living with pancreatic and OG cancers, and their caregivers, across Victoria, Australia during 2020.

Establishing metastatic prostate cancer quality indicators using a modified Delphi approach.

Background: There is variation in the care provided to men with metastatic prostate cancer (mPCa). There has been no previous set of quality indicators (QIs) regarding the management of men with mPCa. The objective of this study is to develop a set of international mPCa-specific QIs, which will enable global benchmarking of quality of care.

Comparison of urinary and sexual patient-reported outcomes between open radical prostatectomy and robot-assisted radical prostatectomy: a propensity score matched, population-based study in Victoria.

Background: Robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) rates have been increasing worldwide despite a lack of evidence of superior patient-reported outcomes (PROs) compared to open radical prostatectomy (ORP).

Methods: This retrospective study included men who contributed data to the Prostate Cancer Outcomes Registry-Victoria (PCOR-Vic), underwent ORP or RARP between January 2014 and May 2018, and completed the EPIC-26 questionnaire 12 months post-surgery. Urinary and sexual bother items, the urinary incontinence domain score, the urinary irritative/obstructive domain score, the sexual domain score and the pad usage item from the EPIC-26 questionnaire were compared between the two cohorts.