Attitudes towards endometrial cancer
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Attitudes and understanding of women from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds on the risk factors and follow up of endometrial cancer
IRAS ID
174322
Contact name
Esther Moss
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University Hospitals Of Leicester
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Endometrial cancer is now the most common gynaecological cancer in the UK and the incidence is continuing to rise year on year. The majority of endometrial cancers have an extremely good prognosis with a 5-year survival rate in excess of 95%, with many women instead dying from the risk factors that resulted in them developing the cancer in the first place, in particular obesity, heart disease and diabetes. There appears to be a great lack of understanding amongst women from all ethnicity backgrounds as to the risk factors associated with endometrial cancer, which may result in a delayed presentation and in turn a delay in obtaining a diagnosis and treatment. The excellent prognosis seen in early stage endometrial cancer has resulted in patient-initiated follow up schemes being introduced in the UK. This is where women do not follow a structured follow-up programme with regular appointments with hospital specialists, as was the traditional model of care, but instead they have open access to the gynaecology specialist nurses for advice if they develop any symptoms and appointments with relevant specialists can then be organized to address specific issues. The aim of this study is to investigate the attitudes and understanding of women from diverse cultural backgrounds, who have had a diagnosis of endometrial cancer, on the risk factors and associations of endometrial cancer. The study will also explore their opinions and views on follow-up schemes and cancer recurrence to ensure that a patient-initiated follow-up scheme is addressing all the issues they are facing. The results obtained from the study will be used to develop strategies to overcome identified barriers to patient-initiated follow up and will be instrumental in informing an education programme for both patients and health care professionals.
REC name
West Midlands - Black Country Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/WM/0239
Date of REC Opinion
1 Jul 2015
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion