An exploration of men’s experiences of undergoing active surveillance for favourable-risk prostate cancer: A mixed methods study protocol

BMC Cancer

Study Protocol

Lionne Venderbos¹  Eimear Ruane-McAteer²  Gillian Prue²  Sam Porter²  Joe O’Sullivan³ 

[1] Department of Urology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands;School of Nursing and Midwifery, Medical Biology Centre, Queen’s University, 97 Lisburn Road, BT9 7BL, Belfast, Northern Ireland;The Northern Ireland Cancer Centre (NICC), Belfast City Hospital, 51 Lisburn Road, BT9 7AB, Belfast, Northern Ireland;

关键词: Prostate cancer;    Active surveillance;    Psychological adjustment;    Anxiety;    Depression;    Uncertainty;    Mixed methods;    Quality of life;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12885-016-2605-6

 received in 2015-11-19, accepted in 2016-07-22,  发布年份 2016

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundProstate cancer is one of the most common male cancers worldwide. Active Surveillance (AS) has been developed to allow men with lower risk disease to postpone or avoid the adverse side effects associated with curative treatments until the disease progresses. Despite the medical benefits of AS, it is reported that living with untreated cancer can create a significant emotional burden for patients.Methods/designThe aim of this study is to gain insight into the experiences of men eligible to undergo AS for favourable-risk PCa.This study has a mixed-methods sequential explanatory design consisting of two phases: quantitative followed by qualitative. Phase 1 has a multiple point, prospective, longitudinal exploratory design. Ninety men diagnosed with favourable-risk prostate cancer will be assessed immediately post-diagnosis (baseline) and followed over a period of 12 months, in intervals of 3 month. Ninety age-matched men with no cancer diagnosis will also be recruited using peer nomination and followed up in the same 3 month intervals. Following completion of Phase 1, 10–15 AS participants who have reported both the best and worst psychological functioning will be invited to participate in semi-structured qualitative interviews. Phase 2 will facilitate further exploration of the quantitative results and obtain a richer understanding of participants’ personal interpretations of their illness and psychological wellbeing.DiscussionTo our knowledge, this is the first study to utilise early baseline measures; include a healthy comparison group; calculate sample size through power calculations; and use a mixed methods approach to gain a deeper more holistic insight into the experiences of men diagnosed with favourable-risk prostate cancer.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2016