Exploring socio-demographic inequalities in the diagnosis of sarcoma
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring socio-demographic inequalities in the diagnosis of sarcoma, with a particular focus on deprivation
IRAS ID
247197
Contact name
Linda Sharp
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Newcastle University
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 11 months, 31 days
Research summary
Background: We recently found that younger patients with osteosarcoma from deprived areas had worse early mortality than those from affluent areas. The reasons are unknown. It is possible that more deprived patients have different pathways to, and experiences of, diagnosis than more affluent patients, and that this may affect their subsequent experiences and clinical outcomes. We propose to investigate this.
Aims: This project will investigate (1) socio-demographic (including deprivation) variations in routes to, and experiences of, diagnosis in bone and soft tissue sarcoma patients; (2) associations between routes to diagnosis and treatment receipt and survival; (3) associations between “poor” diagnostic experiences and poorer treatment, rehabilitation and follow-up experiences.
Methods: The project will use two existing datasets. The first dataset (Routes To Diagnosis; held by the National Cancer Registration and Analysis Service) includes all bone and soft tissue sarcoma patients diagnosed in England in 2009-2014 categorised into diagnostic groups including “Two-week wait”, “Emergency presentation”, “GP referral”, “Other outpatient” and “Inpatient Elective”. We will compare routes to diagnosis by deprivation, age, sex, and tumour type, and associations between diagnosis route and survival. In the second dataset (National Sarcoma Patient Experience Survey; held by Sarcoma UK), we will analyse variations in patient-reported experiences of diagnosis, and assocations between diagnosis experiences and treatment, rehabiltation and follow-up experiences.
How the project results will be used: The results will be disseminated at cancer conferences, through publications in peer-reviewed journals and on charity websites. They will also be used to pump-prime a major national grant application, with the goal of co-designing with patients and healthcare professionals “interventions” to encourage earlier diagnosis of sarcomas.
REC name
Wales REC 7
REC reference
18/WA/0298
Date of REC Opinion
5 Sep 2018
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion