Newly-diagnosed prostate cancer patients in the east of England are the first in the country to be offered direct access to personalised treatment options through a game-changing web portal.
The new web resource, Knowing Your Options, has been developed by the East of England Cancer Alliances, which work alongside NHS hospital specialist teams and patients to transform cancer services across the region.
It allows newly-diagnosed patients to enter their own personal cancer metrics, such as PSA and other test results, into a secure web link, which analyses their data before setting out their full range of treatment options, with risks and benefits specific to that person.
With prostate cancer, there are often a number of treatments that are equally recommended in terms of survival rates, but can have very different impacts on quality of life. The interactive algorithm matches an individual’s diagnostic data against the recommended treatments published by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and sets out the options, allowing them to make better informed decisions about their care.
Treatment options include surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, hormone treatment or symptom control. For many men, no treatment may be necessary. When treatment is necessary, the aim is to cure or control the disease so it affects everyday life as little as possible and does not shorten life expectancy.
Until recently, the information men received when facing a new prostate cancer diagnosis could vary. The portal gives them the chance to access this information directly themselves based on current national guideline recommendations.
Dr Christopher Scrase (pictured above with a patient), Macmillan clinical lead for cancer in Suffolk and north east Essex and a consultant clinical oncologist at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT), said: “Prostate cancer is a disease that often leads to choices in treatment, which is great in many ways but can present challenges for patients and healthcare professionals. For patients, it’s how to arrive at their preferred option with enough information to make a meaningful decision, and for the healthcare professional how to present information in an appropriately comprehensive and understandable way where the messaging is consistent.
“The decision-making tool for prostate cancer which has been pioneered in the East of England Cancer Alliance, integrated into those important shared decision-making conversations, is to be commended. As a vehicle to help with those challenges, I would strongly encourage colleagues to use it in their everyday practice.”
Dr Petrosian Veersamy, consultant in clinical oncology at Milton Keynes University Hospital, said: “Patients newly diagnosed with prostate cancer can face the difficult task of having to navigate the often multiple treatment options available to them. This online tool has been designed to offer patients the opportunity to better understand their diagnosis and the risks and benefits of their therapeutic options. The platform is informative and user friendly, offering scientifically accurate information. Patients have received the tool well, and it is now a permanent addition to my new patient consultations.”
Consultant oncologist professor Peter Hoskin, clinical director for the East of England Cancer Alliance (South) said: “We know that where patients receive inconsistent information it can lead to differences in the rates of both under-treatment and over-treatment in men with non-metastatic primary prostate cancer. This new tool is a fantastic step forward as it provides the latest information, tailored to each individual’s test results. The patient can be confident they have all the information they need to make the best possible decisions about their care and treatment.”
Dr Linda Hunter is associate medical director at Norwich and Norfolk University Hospitals and clinical director for the East of England Cancer Alliance (North).
She said: “I am delighted that the East of England Cancer Alliances have led this ground-breaking work to address the need for a standardised decision aid – an independent source of evidence-based information which will inform and enhance discussions between the patient and their care team at what can be a worrying time. The webtool is configured so that men can look at this with their healthcare provider in clinics, over the phone or by themselves with family when deciding what to do. They only need their basic clinical results to be able to use it online.”
More than 5,000 men are affected by prostate cancer every year in the east of England – the highest rate in the UK – and the number is increasing.
The new web device can be used for all newly-diagnosed prostate cancer patients, except where the cancer has spread or has returned.
Access the Cancer Alliance portal
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