Development of a supportive care framework for breast cancer survivor's unmet needs: A modified Delphi study.

AIM: To establish a supportive care framework for addressing unmet needs among breast cancer survivors, providing practical guidance for healthcare providers to assess and manage these needs, ultimately enhancing the health outcomes and quality of life of breast cancer survivors. DESIGN: We conducted a two-round Delphi survey to gather expert opinions regarding the unmet needs supportive care framework for breast cancer survivors. METHODS: Initial framework identification and inquiry questionnaire creation was achieved via literature search and expert group discussions, which included 15 experts from nursing practice, clinical medicine, nursing management and nursing education was conducted using a Delphi survey. To establish consensus, a two-round Delphi poll was done, using criteria based on the mean (≥4.0), coefficient of variation (CV < 0.25) and percentage for entire score (≥20%). RESULTS: Experts reached a consensus, leading to six care modules, and 28 care entries: Tumour Detection Support (three care entries), Management of Complications of Antitumor Therapy (seven care entries), Healthy Lifestyle Management (five care entries), Sexual and Fertility Support (four care entries), Psychosocial Support (four care entries) and Resource and Linkage Support (five care entries). CONCLUSION: To address breast cancer survivors' unmet needs, a supportive framework was developed to actively enhance their health outcomes. However, further refinement and feasibility testing using mobile devices or artificial intelligence are required. IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION AND PATIENT CARE: This pioneering framework prioritises addressing unmet needs and equips healthcare providers to assess and manage these needs effectively, facilitating the implementation of programs aimed at improving the well-being of breast cancer survivors. REPORTING METHOD: This study was guided by a modified guideline for the Conducting and Reporting of Delphi Studies (CREDES) (Palliative Medicine, 31(8), 684, 2017). PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No Patient or Public Contribution. TRIAL AND PROTOCOL REGISTRATION: The Delphi study methodology does not require registration.

Interventions to improve access to clinical trials in urologic oncology.

INTRODUCTION: Most cancer patients are never enrolled in clinical trials, resulting in missed potential therapeutic benefits to patients and barriers to drug development and approval. With a focus on urologic oncology clinical trials, we reviewed the current literature on barriers to accrual and present effective interventions to overcome these barriers. METHODS: PubMed was searched for articles regarding physician referral and patient accrual to clinical trials in urologic oncology from January 2000 through June 2021. Studies were included if they were in English, related to clinical trial utilization or patient accrual in urologic oncology, peer-reviewed, primary research, survey, or systematic review, and pertained to clinical trials in the U.S. Major overlapping themes related to barriers to accrual and effective interventions were identified. RESULTS: Thirty-six studies met our inclusion criteria. Barriers fall into three categories: 1) provider; 2) patient; or 3) structural. Provider barriers include issues such as poor funding, logistical challenges, and time constraints. Patient barriers include cost, distrust of medical institutions, and lack of knowledge regarding ongoing studies. Structural barriers include lack of time and resources in community settings and difficulty with physician referrals. Effective strategies identified include increasing provider referrals through continuing education and referral pathways, increasing patient education through patient-centered marketing material, and decreasing structural barriers through patient navigation programs and community partnerships. CONCLUSIONS: We identified barriers and potential multipronged strategies targeted at patients, providers, and practices to increase clinical trial enrollment. We hope these strategies will benefit patients and providers and facilitate research development.

Systematic review of interventions that improve provider compliance to imaging guidelines for prostate cancer.

INTRODUCTION: Radiographic staging with bone scan or computed tomography is not indicated for men with low-risk prostate cancer. Physician compliance with these imaging recommendations has been widely variable, leading to inappropriate testing and increased costs. The purpose of this systematic review was to identify and learn from interventions associated with improved physician compliance to imaging guidelines for prostate cancer staging. METHODS: This systematic review followed Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. PubMed was searched through January 2022 for the following medical subject headings (MeSH) terms: ('practice patterns, physicians' or 'guideline adherence' or 'unnecessary procedures' or 'quality improvement') and ('prostatic neoplasms/diagnostic imaging'). Inclusion required discussion of an intervention for physician compliance to prostate cancer imaging guidelines and specific data describing associated outcomes. Publications focused on other malignancies or without this intervention, evaluation, or data were excluded. RESULTS: Of 82 papers screened, only five met inclusion criteria - representing 12 802 patients. Each focused on reducing unnecessary imaging and demonstrated statistically significant post-intervention improvement of physician compliance to imaging guidelines for staging prostate cancer. Four were multidimensional, with education, clinical champions, and performance feedback. One used the unidimensional intervention of an electronic medical record (EMR)-based clinical reminder order check (CROC). No studies used randomization or a control group. CONCLUSIONS: Post-intervention improvement in physician compliance to imaging guidelines for staging prostate cancer has been associated with EMR-based CROC and combination interventions using clinical champions, education, and feedback. This has been observed at individual institutions and larger organizations spanning a region or state.

Conceptualizing problems with symptoms, function, health behavior, health-seeking skills, and financial strain in breast cancer survivors using hierarchical clustering.

PURPOSE: Determine whether a diverse set of problems experienced by breast cancer survivors (BCS) following curative treatment can be formulated into a reduced number of clusters, potentially simplifying the conceptualization of these problems. METHOD: Female BCS were recruited from four cancer hospitals in China. The Chinese translation of the Cancer Survivor Profile (CSPro) was used to measure 18 common problem areas, as supported by epidemiological and phenomenological research. The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Breast (FACT-B) was used to measure quality of life, as a validation of any observed groupings. Hierarchical clustering using multiple distance criteria and aggregation methods to detect patterns of problems was used. RESULTS: A total of 1008 BCS (mean 46.51 years old) living in both urban and rural areas were investigated. Hierarchical cluster analysis identified two major clusters of problems. One set was classified as "functional limitations," while the other cluster was labeled "multi-problems." Those who fell into the multi-problem cluster experienced poorer quality of life. CONCLUSION: Eighteen non-medical problems were broken down into two major clusters: (1) limitations in higher level functions required of daily life and (2) limitations in health care-seeking skills, problems with certain symptoms, unhealthy behaviors, and financial problems related to cancer. The breakdown of problem areas into these two clusters may help identify common mechanisms. IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: In the future, the search for common clusters and the mechanisms for the many problems that breast cancer survivors and other cancer survivors can experience following primary treatment may improve how we help manage these problems in the future.

Systematic review of robotic radical cystectomy functional and quality of life outcomes.

This systematic review summarizes the urinary continence, male sexual function, and female sexual function outcomes after robotic-assisted radical cystectomy (RARC). Greater intracorporeal diversion use, longer followup, and clearly stated urinary continence definitions have revealed RARC urinary continence rates for orthotopic ileal neobladders that are similar to those after open radical cystectomy (ORC) when using the strictest continence definitions. Nerve-sparing technique appears to be well-used in most studies, with short-term and long-term RARC potency rates similar those after ORC when using the strictest potency definitions. Level 1 evidence using validated questionnaires suggests that quality of life outcomes are also similar.

Incidence and mortality trends of metastatic prostate cancer: Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results database analysis.

INTRODUCTION: In the past decade, prostate cancer screening decreased, raising the concern of delays in diagnosis and leading to an increase in new cases of metastatic prostate cancer. This study evaluated whether these changes may have impacted trends in metastatic prostate cancer incidence and survival. METHODS: Metastatic prostate cancer diagnoses from 2008-2016 were identified from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) 18 registries. Age-adjusted incidence rates per 100 000 were calculated by time periods and demographic variables. Two-year all-cause and prostate cancer-specific mortality were calculated for patients diagnosed from 2008-2014, and multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used to evaluate the impact of demographic and clinical variables. RESULTS: Incidence rates of metastatic prostate cancer increased by 18% from 2008-2009 to 2014-2016 (incidence rate ratio [IRR]=1.18, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.14-1.21). This trend was observed across multiple subgroups but was greatest in non-Hispanic Whites and patients living in counties 0-10% below poverty level. There was an overall decreased risk of all-cause and prostate cancer-specific mortality, but unmarried men and men living in counties >20% below poverty level showed statistically significant increased risk of prostate cancer-specific mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Non-Hispanic Whites and the wealthiest subgroups had the largest increase in incidence of metastatic prostate cancer since 2008. Despite trends of decreased risk of prostate cancer-specific mortality, we found certain populations experienced increases in mortality risk. Studies exploring the role of socioeconomic factors on screening and access to newer treatments are needed.

Evolving landscape of cancer survivorship research: an analysis of the Journal of Cancer Survivorship, 2007-2020.

PURPOSE: To provide an analysis of papers published by the Journal of Cancer Survivorship (JCSU) from March 1, 2007 (its inception) until December 31, 2020. METHODS: Characteristics (locations, study type, cancer type, keywords assigned by original authors) of all included articles were extracted into EndNote X9 and were coded and analyzed using Excel, NVivo v.R1.3 and VOSviewer, v.1.616. Journal Impact Factor and citation counts of each manuscript were downloaded from Clarivate Journal Citation Reports and Scopus®, respectively. RESULTS: Published papers are predominantly from the USA, Australia, and the UK. While breast cancer continues to be the dominant cancer type, a range of different cancer types and populations with mixed-cancer types have been addressed in the journal. Cross-sectional designs were the most used. JCSU's impact factor experienced a steady growth between 2011 and 2015 and stabilized over recent years (2016-2020), at 3.296 (1 year) and 3.830 (5 years). Keyword co-occurrence analyses indicated prominent themes including quality of life, physical activity, late effects, follow-up care, and psychosocial aspects of cancer survivorship. CONCLUSIONS: JCSU has made a significant contribution thus far by disseminating knowledge in cancer survivorship. This paper provides insights of JCSU's success to date and recommends further diversification and directions for practice areas that are novel or have received less attention by the cancer survivorship community. IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: This journal stands ready to publish new information that informs the cancer survivorship community on the multidimensional nature of cancer and facilitates translation into quality care across many different settings and across the globe.

Breast cancer application protocol: a randomised controlled trial to evaluate a self-management app for breast cancer survivors.

INTRODUCTION: The eHealth technologies that are being designed for chronic disease constitute a global trend towards health assessment and self-management. However, most of these approaches tend to focus on a single symptom or problem rather than on the multiple problems that are characteristic of many of these chronic illnesses. The aim of this study is to examine the effectiveness of and adherence to a self-management application (app) that identifies multiple problem areas related to surviving breast cancer as the targeted chronic illness. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This is a randomised controlled study. Eligible participants will be allocated randomly into either an intervention group or a control group at a 1:1 ratio. The intervention group will be assigned to the self-management app ('Be-with-You'), while the control group will use a general health app ('Sham' app). The primary outcomes will include the differences between the two groups in their health literacy, problem-solving skills and self-management skills. The secondary outcomes will include group differences in self-efficacy, readiness for change and health-related quality of life. All of these outcomes will be measured at baseline and at 4 weeks and 12 weeks after intervention. In addition, usability of these two mobile apps will be measured at 4 weeks and 12 weeks after intervention. The planned sample size is 476. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The Human Subjects Ethics Sub-committee of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University approved the study (HSEARS20190922001, 24 September 2019). Dissemination of findings will occur at the local, national and international levels. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ChiCTR1900026244.

Prostate cancer risk group is associated with other-cause mortality in men with localized prostate cancer.

INTRODUCTION: Informed decision-making in localized prostate cancer must consider the natural history of the disease, risks of treatment, and the competing risks from other causes. Other-cause mortality has often been associated with comorbidity or treatment-related side effects. We aimed to examine the association between prostate cancer aggressiveness and other-cause mortality. METHODS: Using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)18 registries, patients diagnosed with localized prostate cancer between 2004 and 2015 were identified. Patients were categorized into low-, intermediate- and high-risk groups. Vital status, death due to prostate cancer, and death due to other causes were based on death certificate information. Survival analyses were performed to assess the association between prostate cancer risk group and mortality while adjusting for demographic variables, year of diagnosis, and initial therapy. RESULTS: A total of 464 653 patients were identified with a median followup of 5.4 years. Cardiovascular disease was the most common cause of mortality during the study period. Compared to low-risk patients, intermediate- and high-risk patients had a higher risk of mortality from other cancers, cardiovascular disease, and other causes of death regardless of initial treatment. Men who underwent surgery as initial therapy had lower cumulative mortality rates compared to those with radiation as their initial therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Intermediate- and high-risk prostate cancers are associated with higher risk of other-cause mortality. This appears to be independent of treatment type and may not be solely explained by comorbidity status. Further studies controlling for comorbidity and treatment burden should be explored.

Rehabilitation Is a Global Health Priority.

Optimizing functioning at all ages is a major global public health goal. Rehabilitation is unique in its contribution to this public health agenda because of its focus on optimizing function. In this editorial, the editors of leading rehabilitation journals make the case for fully integrating rehabilitation into a nation's health system and strengthening it specifically at the primary care level to increase access and achieve its full potential. Authors submitting papers to rehabilitation journals are encouraged to consider the global health policy implications of their research when they prepare their research reports for publication and to make these implications explicit.