Investigating The Utility Of Primary Care Skin Cancer Clinics In Queensland
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$187,000.00
Summary
Skin cancer is the most common cancer in Australia, with an estimated 375,000 people being treated for some skin cancer in Australia in 2002, and 1462 dying from the disease (mainly from melanoma) in 2001. Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer, both melanoma and non-melanoma is the world. However, if detected early, skin cancer is curable, and the focus of current treatment programs internationally is to detect the disease before it progresses to an advanced stage. A large proportion of ....Skin cancer is the most common cancer in Australia, with an estimated 375,000 people being treated for some skin cancer in Australia in 2002, and 1462 dying from the disease (mainly from melanoma) in 2001. Australia has the highest rate of skin cancer, both melanoma and non-melanoma is the world. However, if detected early, skin cancer is curable, and the focus of current treatment programs internationally is to detect the disease before it progresses to an advanced stage. A large proportion of skin cancers are first detected by the non-medical community. However, due to the two-tiered medical system in Australia, a person first seeks medical opinion from a general practitioner (GP), who acts as a gatekeeper for further treatment from a specialist. Therefore the ability of GPs to be able to discern which lesions require further treatment is crucial, both for the patient, and the financial burden on the health system. A recent development has been the establishment of dedicated primary skin care clinics, which offer open access consultations to the community for the diagnosis and treatment of skin cancers and pigmented lesions. The emergence of these clinics has created much debate in the medical media. Concern has been expressed about the skills of practitioners in these clinics, whilst others argue that sub-specialisation in primary care will lead to improvements in the management of patients. As there is currently no data on the volume, casemix and diagnostic accuracy of these clinics it is difficult to assess the diagnostic ability of skin cancer clinics. This will be the first project to quantify the role of skin clinics in the diagnosis of skin cancer in the community, and in particular their case volume, casemix and diagnostic accuracy, and assess these measures in relation to a comparable sample of general practitioners. Queensland is an ideal location for a study of this type due to its high incidence of both types of skin cancer.Read moreRead less
Practice- And Policy-relevant Research In Skin Cancer Epidemiology, Prevention And Screening
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$483,402.00
Summary
This Fellowship will enable me to lead an internationally-competitive program of research in skin cancer epidemiology, prevention & screening that will lead to improved patient and population health through impacts on clinical practice and health policy. My aim is to lead paradigm-shifting contributions in: ? Genetic epidemiology of melanoma, ? Precision skin cancer prevention & screening, and ? Public health genomics for cancer prevention.
20 Year Study Of Skin Cancer In A Queensland Community
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$396,415.00
Summary
Skin cancers are by far the commonest cancers diagnosed in Australia. Even though it is known that sun exposure in excess causes skin cancers there are complexities about the causes, especially of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) -the major type of skin cancer- that are still not understood. Relative intensity of sun exposure and perhaps its timing with respect to age in life may well be critical factors. We aim to study these causes in very great detail by collating information that has been gathered ....Skin cancers are by far the commonest cancers diagnosed in Australia. Even though it is known that sun exposure in excess causes skin cancers there are complexities about the causes, especially of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) -the major type of skin cancer- that are still not understood. Relative intensity of sun exposure and perhaps its timing with respect to age in life may well be critical factors. We aim to study these causes in very great detail by collating information that has been gathered over a 20 year period in a community-based skin cancer study in Nambour, Qld as well as performing some laboratory tests on skin cancer tissue collected from participants. This 3-year project will enable the full realisation of the potential of this esource-20 years in the making- with its wealth of information for answering questions about skin cancer decelopment and preventability. It should finally provide us with a clearer rationale for 'prevention of skin cancer' than is currently available. In addition we shall assess the costs of treatment of skin cancer in general and for the individual, and how much preventive practices for skin cancer might save the health budget, by using the releavnt data collected from this community sample.Read moreRead less
Generating The Evidence To Control Cancer And Optimise Outcomes
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$6,564,341.00
Summary
Our Program addresses the public health aspects of common cancers, particularly cancers of the skin and gynaecological tracts. Each year in Australia, nearly 400,000 people are treated for skin cancer, and more than 3,500 women develop ovarian or uterine cancer. Our aims are first, to understand how we might prevent these cancers in the future; second, to enhance diagnosis of these cancers; and third, to improve the survival and quality of life for people who are diagnosed with these cancers
Studies in cancer control. As life expectancy in Australia (and throughout the world) continues to rise, so will the burden of cancer escalate. Treating cancer after diagnosis is costly, and in many instances, unsuccessful. Preventive strategies promise to reduce the future cancer burden, yet our knowledge in this arena is limited by the lack of credible research as to what works and what does not. This application addresses this gap directly by conducting research into the control of two cancer ....Studies in cancer control. As life expectancy in Australia (and throughout the world) continues to rise, so will the burden of cancer escalate. Treating cancer after diagnosis is costly, and in many instances, unsuccessful. Preventive strategies promise to reduce the future cancer burden, yet our knowledge in this arena is limited by the lack of credible research as to what works and what does not. This application addresses this gap directly by conducting research into the control of two cancers which exact a growing toll in Australia and elsewhere. The work seeks to identify and understand the causal pathways to cancer, and then use this information to devise evidence-based strategies for cancer control.Read moreRead less