Current research projects

Long-term melanoma survivors study

Queensland records the highest rates of melanoma in the world and while incidence continues to increase, with mortality now stabilised, we are now witnessing an increasing number of long-term melanoma survivors. While melanoma is one of the most common cancers in Queensland, surprisingly little is known about the psychosocial outcomes patients and their families experience following a melanoma diagnosis, particularly for long-term survivors.

The Viertel Centre for Research in Cancer Control is conducting a study to investigate levels of psychological distress, physical and emotional well-being, quality of life, and health behaviours of long-term melanoma survivors. Additionally, this project will address the important issue of clinical surveillance including the frequency of follow-up, consultation procedures, the number of patients who suffer a recurrence and/or develop additional primary melanoma(s).

Contact

• Pip Youl
  

Managing skin cancer in the primary care setting

Skin cancer is the most common cancer in Australia and rates are continuing to rise. In 2002 it was estimated that over 374,000 individuals were treated for non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) with approximately 36 per cent of these cases occurring in Queensland individuals. The cost of treating skin cancer is enormous with an estimated $300 million spent in Australia each year.

Traditionally GPs have diagnosed and treated the vast majority of skin cancer in their day-to-day general practice. However with the recent growth in the number of GPs working primarily in skin cancer medicine, changes in the way skin cancer is managed in the primary care setting are now evident.

Building on the VCRCC's previous work with mainstream GPs and skin cancer clinics, this project is examining how skin cancer and suspicious skin lesions are managed and treated in primary care skin cancer clinics and in mainstream general practice in urban and regional areas of Queensland.

Contact

• Pip Youl

Breast Cancer Outcomes Project

Breast cancer is the most common invasive cancer affecting Australian women, with over 12,000 new cases diagnosed nationally and 2,700 deaths. In Queensland one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. As our population increases and ages, the burden breast cancer places on our community will also increase. Inequalities in survival from, and treatment for, breast cancer continue to exist for Australian women particularly for women living in rural and remote areas and for those from areas of socioeconomic disadvantage. While we know some of the reasons for these differences, we do not know to what level these differences are due to the characteristics of the women diagnosed with breast cancer, or the area in which she lives.

This 5-year study, the first of its type in Australia, will assess the relative importance of remoteness, socioeconomic and demographic factors, diagnostic and treatment pathways and processes and supportive care utilisation for Queensland women newly diagnosed with breast cancer. The study will enable us to determine whether areas themselves have an impact on the clinical and psychosocial outcomes from breast cancer independently of the characteristics of the women who live in the areas and thus inform health care providers, policy makers and support organisations with targeted information to improve the future care of women with breast cancer.

Contact

• Pip Youl

Lung Cancer Outcomes Project

Lung cancer is the fifth most common cancer and the leading cause of deaths from cancer.  Compared with other major cancers, lung cancer has a relatively short survival, worse prognosis and more severe symptomatology, mainly because at the time a diagnosis is made, lung cancer is often well advanced and treatment options are limited. Studies have shown that there is a wide variation in practice for the management of people with lung cancer in Australia. It is thought that the stigma associated with lung disease as being self-inflicted may contribute to the range of patient management practices.

Cancer Council Queensland in collaboration with Cancer Council New South Wales and Griffith University is undertaking a study to better understand health professionals, patients and carers' experiences with lung cancer. The aim of the study is to build an accessible evidence base on the effects of stigma and nihilistic views on outcomes of lung cancer in Australia that can be used by policy makers, health professionals and cancer control agencies to inform the content of public health messages, clinical practice and supportive care guidelines.

Contact

• Carla Shield
  

Investigating the increase in thyroid cancer in Queensland

In Queensland the annual incidence of cancer of the thyroid gland has increased by 5.4% in men and 6.3% in women from 1982-2007. Similar large increases have been reported in other Australian states and internationally. Previous studies have suggested that the increasing incidence of thyroid cancer is predominantly due to the increased detection of small papillary cancers, the most common histological sub-type of thyroid cancer. This trend, combined with stable mortality and a known existence of "subclinical cancer" suggests that the increasing incidence may reflect increased detection of this subclinical disease, rather than an increase in the true occurrence of thyroid cancer.

This study is investigating whether the observed increase in thyroid cancer incidence in Queensland can be attributed to increases in subclinical forms of thyroid cancers, or if there is evidence for a real increase.

Contact

• Pip Youl

More information

For more information about the Cancer, Causes and Control research programs contact the Program Leader: Pip Youl