Poster Presentation Clinical Oncology Society of Australia Annual Scientific Meeting 2023

Defining research priorities and needs in cancer symptoms for adults diagnosed with cancer: an Australian/New Zealand modified Delphi study (#497)

Vanessa M Yenson 1 2 3 , Ingrid Amgarth-Duff 1 2 4 , Linda Brown 1 2 3 5 , Cristina Caperchione 1 6 7 , Katherine Clark 1 8 9 10 , Andrea Cross 11 12 , Phillip Good 1 13 14 15 , Amanda Landers 1 16 , Tim Luckett 1 3 5 7 , Jennifer Philip 7 17 18 19 , Christopher Steer 7 20 21 , Janette L Vardy 22 23 24 , Aaron K Wong 12 17 18 19 , Meera R Agar 1 2 3 5 7 12
  1. University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia
  2. Improving Palliative, Aged and Chronic Care through Clinical Research and Translation (IMPACCT) , Ultimo, NSW, Australia
  3. Cancer Symptom Trials (CST), Ultimo, NSW, Australia
  4. Telethon Kids Institute, Perth, WA, Australia
  5. Palliative Care Clinical Studies Collaborative, Ultimo, NSW, Australia
  6. School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, Australia
  7. Management Advisory Committee, Cancer Symptom Trials, Ultimo, NSW, Australia
  8. Supportive and Palliative Care Network, Northern Sydney Local Health District, St Leonards, NSW, Australia
  9. Northern Clinical School, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  10. Northern Sydney Cancer Centre, Royal North Shore Hospital, St Leonards, NSW, Australia
  11. Consumer Advocate, Cancer Symptom Trials , Ultimo, NSW, Australia
  12. Scientific Advisory Committee, Cancer Symptom Trials, Ultimo, NSW, Australia
  13. Palliative and Supportive Care, Mater Misericordiae, South Brisbane, QLD, Australia
  14. Department of Palliative Care, St Vincent's Private Hospital, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
  15. Mater Research, University of Queensland, South Brisbane, QLD, Australia
  16. Palliative Care, Department of Medicine, University of Otago, Christchurch, New Zealand
  17. Palliative Medicine, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
  18. Palliative Care, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
  19. Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
  20. Rural Clinical Campus, University of New South Wales, Albury-Wodonga, NSW, Australia
  21. Border Medical Oncology, Albury-Wodonga, NSW, Australia
  22. Centre for Medical Psychology and Evidence-Based Decision-Making, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
  23. Concord Cancer Centre, Concord Repatriation General Hospital, Concord, NSW, Australia
  24. Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia

Background and Aim

Cancer symptoms, from disease or treatment, are common. Our aim was to reach consensus on the most troublesome cancer symptoms in Australian / New Zealand adults, to inform the direction of future clinical research and improve quality of life.

 

Methods

We conducted a modified Delphi study comprising two online surveys and consensus-building meetings for participants who included consumers and healthcare professionals (HCPs). Consensus was defined a priori as ≥70% participant agreement. Responses were summarised descriptively.

 

Round 1: HCPs were asked about prevalence/severity/management of 31 cancer symptoms in their patients; consumers were asked whether they experienced these symptoms, and to rate their impact. Participants were asked to nominate interventions for future symptom management research.

 

Round 2: Participants were asked if there were symptoms missing from the list of the top 10 ranked symptoms from Round 1, and to rate the importance of researching each intervention nominated in Round 1 (4-point Likert scale).

 

Round 3: Consumer meetings aimed to reach consensus on symptoms that had previously been agreed on by HCPs. All participants voted on symptoms reinstated in Round 2, and interventions that had not previously reached consensus.

 

Results

Participation peaked in Round 1 (consumers=332; HCPs=51). Consumers reached consensus that fatigue, bowel/bladder problems were troublesome. HCPs reached consensus on these and agreed that depression/mood, memory, cachexia, drowsiness, anorexia, sensory neuropathy, neuropathic pain, breathlessness, anxiety, insomnia were also poorly managed.

 

Both groups agreed that medicinal cannabis, physical activity, psychological therapies, non-opioid interventions for pain and opioids for breathlessness were important foci for future research.

 

Conclusion

This study identified clear priority areas for future cancer symptom research, including intervention strategies nominated by consumers and HCPs. We will collaborate with investigators, industry, and consumers to target clinical trial research into these priority areas, starting with the online 'Facing Fatigue Seminar Series' (Jul2023-Jun2024).

  1. Yenson VM, Amgarth-Duff I, Brown L, Caperchione CM, Clark K, Cross A, Good P, Landers A, Luckett T, Philip J, Steer C, Vardy JL, Wong AK, Agar MR. Defining research priorities and needs in cancer symptoms for adults diagnosed with cancer: an Australian/New Zealand modified Delphi study. Support Care Cancer. 2023 Jul 3;31(7):436. doi: 10.1007/s00520-023-07889-y. PMID: 37395859; PMCID: PMC10317881.
  2. We would like to acknowledge and thank the Australian Cancer Patient Organisations who promoted this study to their respective communities (in alphabetical order): Avner Pancreatic Cancer Foundation (now PanKind Australia), Beyond Five (now Head and Neck Cancer Australia), Bowel Cancer Australia, Brain Tumour Alliance Australia, Breast Cancer Network Australia, Cure Brain Cancer Foundation (Australia), Lung Foundation Australia, Melanoma and Skin Cancer Trials (Australia), Ovarian Cancer Australia, Prostate Cancer Foundation Australia.
  3. We would like to acknowledge and thank the New Zealand Cancer Patient Organisations who promoted this study to their respective communities (in alphabetical order): Bowel Cancer Foundation Trust (NZ), Bowel Cancer New Zealand, Breast Cancer Aotearoa Coalition (NZ), The Gut Foundation (NZ), Leukaemia and Blood Cancer New Zealand, Melanoma New Zealand, New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation (now Breast Cancer Foundation NZ), PINC & STEEL Foundation (NZ), Prostate Cancer Foundation of New Zealand, Testicular Cancer New Zealand.
  4. We would like to acknowledge and thank the Australian and New Zealand Health Professional Organisations who promoted this study to their members (in alphabetical order): Australia and New Zealand Society of Palliative Medicine, Cancer Nurses Society of Australia, Clinical Oncology Society of Australia, Cancer Symptom Trials, New Zealand Nurses Organisation, New Zealand Society for Oncology, Palliative Care Clinical Studies Collaborative, Palliative Care Nurses Australia.