Background

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among Australian and New Zealand males. For men aged 75 years and over, the risk of prostate cancer has been estimated at 1 in 8, and the risk of death due to prostate cancer is 1 in 84. However, 92% of men diagnosed with prostate cancer are alive five years later, with survival as high as 97% for men diagnosed before the age of 60. Many men diagnosed with prostate cancer can even avoid immediate treatment, without detriment, or actually not require any treatment.

The Prostate Cancer Outcomes Registry – Australia and New Zealand (PCOR-ANZ) is an international initiative tracking the treatment and outcomes of men with prostate cancer. It was developed to assist in improving the quality of care and outcomes for men diagnosed with prostate cancer. Researchers at Monash University are working in collaboration with the Movember Foundation to develop and implement the registry, and is supported by specialty medical societies/organisations managing prostate cancer across Australia and New Zealand.

Aims and objectives

The primary aim of PCOR-ANZ is to develop a population-based prostate cancer clinical registry to assist in improving the quality of care provided to men with prostate cancer. PCOR-ANZ will improve knowledge of prostate cancer, advance treatment options and identify whether gaps exist in service provision by:

  • Monitoring, benchmarking and publicly reporting on the outcomes of prostate cancer treatment and care;
  • Providing risk adjusted, evidence based data to clinicians, hospitals and decision makers on prostate cancer clinical practice that fosters and evaluates improved quality of treatment and care for men diagnosed with prostate cancer;
  • Monitoring trends in incidence of prostate cancer in populations and survival over time;
  • Determining the clinical effectiveness of treatments in a real world setting;
  • Identifying factors that predict favourable and unfavourable treatment outcomes, particularly in relation to the major adverse effects;
  • Providing information to patients about the risks and benefits of specific approaches to prostate cancer treatment; and
  • Fostering research leading to improvement in care and survival; ideally enabling comparisons across countries.

Data collection

For men who choose to participate, PCOR-ANZ will facilitate the local collection of data from medical files and telephone and web surveys with men themselves, on the outcomes of their prostate cancer journey.

The focus of PCOR-ANZ is to collect data at population level that covers all:

  • Patients
  • Prostate cancer procedures
  • Healthcare professionals and clinicians
  • Locations (hospitals/clinics) across Australia and New Zealand

The data within PCOR-ANZ will be reported back to clinicians, allowing them to understand how their patients are progressing as compared with other men in participating jurisdictions. It will also be used for research purposes, which we hope will see additional improvements in quality of care and outcomes for men diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Funding

PCOR-ANZ gratefully acknowledges the funding from the Movember Foundation to enable the establishment of this bi-national registry.

The Movember community has raised over AUD 685 million to date, and has funded over 1,000 projects in 21 countries. This work is saving and improving the lives of men affected by prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental and physical health problems.

The Movember Foundation challenges men to grow moustaches during Movember (formerly known as November), to spark conversation and raise vital funds for its men’s health programs. To date, 5 million moustaches have been grown worldwide, and will continue to grow as long as serious men’s health issues exist.

PCOR-ANZ has been made possible with an initial investment of $4.5 million thanks to the fundraising efforts of passionate Australian Mo Bro’s and Mo Sista’s.