Impact of a prostate multidisciplinary clinic program on patient treatment decisions and on adherence to NCCN guidelines: the William Beaumont Hospital experience.

OBJECTIVES: In order to demonstrate the impact of multidisciplinary care in the community oncology setting, we evaluated treatment decisions after the initiation of a dedicated prostate and genitourinary (GU) multidisciplinary clinic (MDC). METHODS: In March 2010, a GU MDC was created at William Beaumont Hospital with the goal of providing patients with a comprehensive multidisciplinary evaluation and consensus treatment recommendations in a single visit. Urologists, radiation, and medical oncologists along with ancillary support staff participated in this comprehensive initial evaluation. The impact of this experience on patient treatment decisions was analyzed. RESULTS: During the first year, a total of 182 patients were seen. Compared with previous years, low-risk MDC patients more frequently chose external beam radiation therapy (41.1% vs. 26.6%, P=0.02), and active surveillance (14.3% vs. 6.1%, P=0.02) and less frequently prostatectomy (30.4% vs. 44.0%, P=0.03). Similar increases in external beam were seen in intermediate and high-risk patients. Increased use of hormonal therapy was found in high-risk patients compared with the years before the initiation of the MDC (76.2% vs. 51.1%, P=0.03). Increased adherence to National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines was seen with intermediate-risk patients (89.8% vs. 75.9%, P=0.01), whereas nonsignificant increases were seen in low-risk (100% vs. 98.9%, P=0.43) and high-risk patients (100% vs. 94.2%, P=0.26). CONCLUSIONS: The establishment of a GU MDC improved the quality of care for cancer patients as demonstrated by improved adherence to National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines, and a broadening of treatment choices made available.

Strategies for reducing cancer incidence and mortality in African American and Arab American and Chaldean communities in the Detroit metropolitan area.

OBJECTIVES: We studied the feasibility of implementing a community-based participatory process (CBPP) that addressed cancer education, prevention, and screening in 2 ethnic minority populations by evaluating the improvement in rates of cancer screening compared with historical benchmarks. METHODS: From 2003 to 2009, 2281 community members participated in CBPPs conducted by the Beaumont Cancer Institute in cooperation with the Arab American and Chaldean (AAC) Council, the National Cancer Institute, and the American Cancer Society. The study population consisted of 1067 individuals who completed a postcancer forum survey: 642 from the African American (AA) and 425 from the AAC forums. Data were collected on participants' screening history and participation in subsequent screening tests after the previous year's CBPP. RESULTS: Following attendance of at least one cancer forum the previous year, 329 (30.8%) of the 1067 participant respondents underwent some type of cancer screening, 32% in the AA forums and 28.9% in the AAC forums. Compared with published controls, the CBPPs led to a 38.6% increase in mammographic screening and a 28.7% increase in prostate-specific antigen screening; the AA cohort had 39.7% and 28.4% increases whereas the AAC cohort had 36.3% and 28.9% increases in mammographic and prostate-specific antigen screening, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that implementing CBPPs are feasible in underscreened ethnic minority populations. Further studies need to be performed to determine the absolute benefit of CBPPs compared with baseline levels of screening within these ethnic minority populations.

Increasing accrual in cancer clinical trials with a focus on minority enrollment: The William Beaumont Hospital Community Clinical Oncology Program Experience.

BACKGROUND: The authors reviewed changes in accrual to cancer clinical trials over the last 2 decades at their institution with a focus on minority participation after the implementation of a community clinical oncology program (CCOP) and an aggressive, education-orientated minority outreach program (MOP). METHODS: Data on patient enrollment in clinical trials for the years 1988 to 2010 was obtained from the William Beaumont Hospital (WBH) Cancer Clinical Trials Office. The type and number of cancers diagnosed and treated during the same period were obtained from the WBH tumor registry data. The MOP was initiated in the fall of 2003 with a focus on culture-specific cancer education. RESULTS: With the development of the CCOP, clinical trials accrual increased significantly by 10-fold (P = .001). The primary service area for the CCOP consistently averaged an 85% to 90% Caucasian population. During the same period, the minority population for the service area remained stable between 8.8% and 10% and did not change significantly. From 1999 to 2004, the WBH tumor registry data demonstrated that minorities represented 8.6% of cancers registered, whereas the average yearly minority enrollment from 2002 to 2004 was 5.4%. After initiation of the MOP, minority accrual doubled to 11% by 2010 with stable minority demographics. CONCLUSIONS: The current findings support the importance of a CCOP in supporting the accrual of patients to national clinical trials and increasing access to state-of-the art research. These data also strongly support focusing additional energy and educational efforts on targeting minority representation in clinical trials.