Public health studies in the treatment of prostate cancer

There is a need for more public health research within the healthcare system. The researchers in this project argue that public health could be improved if healthcare professionals and patients had better opportunities to choose treatments based on their differences in effectiveness and safety – and on how patients value those differences. However, such evidence is often insufficient or unavailable.

Public health studies do not always compare the treatment options actually considered in clinical practice. Furthermore, they tend to focus on endpoints such as survival and disease progression, while giving less attention to Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) – particularly symptoms and side effects that may significantly impact patients’ daily lives. Importantly, these studies rarely incorporate patients’ own evaluations of the differences between treatment alternatives.

In the LEad4Care project, two combination treatments for prostate cancer are being compared that have never previously been directly compared before. These represent the options considered when prostate cancer has spread extensively but still responds to treatments that lower testosterone levels. The treatments will be compared on the basis of both clinical and patient-reported parameters, and patients’ evaluations of the differences will be recorded.

The researchers will recruit 1.400 patients undergoing different combination treatments and monitor them over a five-year period. 130 of these patients with comparable health status at recruitment will be selected to identify clinical and patient-reported differences between the treatments. All patients will provide input on how they value various parameters in relation to each other. The study aims to facilitate patient-centered treatment choices.