Impact
PC4 - The Primary Care Collaborative Cancer Clinical Trials Group
PC4 is funded by Cancer Australia to support the development of high-quality cancer research in primary care. Our Group provides an infrastructure to foster collaboration between researchers, health care practitioners, policy makers and consumers. We provide access to expert advice and resources through our Support Services, and build research capacity with our Training Awards, Workshops and Mentoring Programs. Further information about becoming a member of PC4 and learning more about ways to support your research is provided on the trial group’s website.
Data Connect
Data Connect is the result of an initial collaboration between the VCCC Alliance, the University of Melbourne, hospitals (VCCC Alliance member and non-member) and BioGrid Australia to link primary care and hospital data. Linked data enables researchers to examine cancer across the patient’s whole journey – from pre-diagnosis to diagnosis and treatment, to post-treatment including survivorship and palliative care. Data Connect is the first and only example of using linked data, including data from primary care, for cancer research in Australia.
This project has enabled a linked data system with research capability to analyse cancer patient data at the three key points where the primary care and hospital systems intersect across the cancer journey. Data Connect is informing improved cancer diagnosis and cancer care.
We have demonstrated the research impact of linking datasets to study patterns of care and develop diagnostic risk prediction algorithms, some of which are being implemented into general practice through the Future Health Today decision support platform.
Our recent success in linking primary care data through the Centre for Victorian Data Linkage (CVDL) also represents a significant opportunity to expand cancer research. This linkage to all Victorian hospital data sets, the Victorian Cancer Registry, National Death Index, postcode and Australian Bureau of Statistics data provides much larger linkage in terms of data completeness and size of linked cancer cohorts. In partnership with the Victorian Optimal Care Summits, the Data Connect team is using this data to inform oesophagogastric, endometrial and colorectal cancer diagnostic pathways and for the Victorian Integrated Cancer Service Optimal Care Summits in 2024 and 2025.
Our research has had national impact through collaboration with inter-state and international project partners using linked data. This includes analyses on skin checks and outcomes applied to modelling studies on skin cancer screening in collaboration with the Daffodil Centre in NSW. Our work in collaboration with QIMR/University of Queensland was part of a successful tender to Cancer Australia and is mapping diagnostic pathways and developing diagnostic decision support tools for pancreatic cancer.
The Data Connect website includes an infographic detailing the data that is available and how it is being used.
PARTNER
The PARTNER network is a national rural practice-based research network (PBRN) that connects regional, remote and rural Australians to new clinical trials and practiced based research, through their local GP. PARTNER creates an environment of research-ready GP practices that improves the efficiency and quality of trials conducted in primary care. The network aims to improve general practice skills and capacity to develop and conduct rural practice-based research.
To assist with this, PARTNER offers two technology solutions that support identification of eligible patients and for the contribute to national database that has the potential to support trial outcome data, drive relevant research questions and support disease surveillance. For more information, please see: https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/bringing-clinical-trials-to-regional-patients