Background
The Evaluation of Cancer Outcomes pilot is a collaboration between the BSWRICS, Victorian Cancer Registry, and the Department of Health; which aimed to develop a standardised method of collecting tumour stage at diagnosis, prognostic indicators, treatment and subsequent outcomes for newly diagnosed cancer patients. The aim of this report is to update aspects of what we have learnt from the data and how this can support service development and improve practice.
Methods
The data was retrospectively collected from newly diagnosed cancer patients identified after admission to a public or private hospital in the region. The cohort included patients diagnosed in 2009.
Results
There were 1778 primary tumours. Stage at diagnosis was recorded for more than 50% of patients for the tumour streams of breast, bowel, and lung. Patients reporting to health centres with an on-site oncologist as part of their team had a higher rate of staging recorded at diagnosis (48.0% versus 36.9%, p = 0.01). Overall, radiotherapy utilisation rates were lower for rural patients compared with the Geelong (25.6% vs 28.9% p = 0.06). Chemotherapy utilisation rates were 72% for small cell lung cancer and 32% for non-small cell lung cancer, while radiotherapy utilisation was 39% for and 47% respectively.
Conclusion
This detailed data collection project has highlighted variations in patterns of care across the region that can inform service development and practice improvement plans. For example, knowing that rural patients are less likely to have stage formally recorded supports ongoing moves to increase patient access to oncology services across the region. Likewise, analysis within the population of lung cancer patients shows that chemotherapy and radiotherapy utilisation sit below theoretical optimal rates, promoting examination of oncology referral and treatment patterns. The ECOBSW registry provides a source of data not routinely available and access to this more detailed data highlights areas of need.