BRIGHTLIGHT_2021
Research type
Research Study
Full title
What clinical outcomes are associated with the 'joint care' for teenagers and young adults with cancer?
IRAS ID
296932
Contact name
Rachel Taylor
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 4 months, 31 days
Research summary
What is the problem?
In England, around 2,100 young people aged 16-24 years are diagnosed with cancer annually. Young people develop rare cancers and are more likely to experience significant impacts on their mental health, education and relationships with friends/family which means they need specialist care. Thirteen cancer hospitals called Principal Treatment Centres (PTCs) specialise in treating young people. Not all patients are treated in PTCs. Young people can have:
1. All care delivered in PTC
2. No care delivered in PTC, all their care is in a children’s or adult hospital.
3. Some care in a PTC and some care in another hospital, this is called ‘joint care’.
BRIGHTLIGHT investigated the impact of having all care in a PTC, versus no care and some care in a PTC. Results suggest young people whose care is divided between PTCs and other hospitals (joint care) have lower quality of life than those having all their care in a PTC or no care in a PTC. New NHS commissioning guidance recommends ‘joint care’. It is important to assess whether the findings of BRIGHTLIGHT still hold or, whether now joint care can be as good as those being treated in one type of hospital.What are our aims?
To determine if young people in ‘joint care’ have similar quality of life compared to those treated in one hospital.How will we do this?
A survey will be sent to 732 young people aged 13-24 years, within seven months of a new cancer diagnosis asking about quality of life and other factors including social support, their experience of their cancer journey and care. We will link patient responses to data collected in the cancer registry and data collected by the NHS to determine whether they have had care in one hospital or if they had ‘joint care’.REC name
South West - Frenchay Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/SW/0076
Date of REC Opinion
17 Aug 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion