Oncology Journal Club 17th September 2019, 8pm-9pm

Health Related quality of life after treatment for bladder cancer 

British Journal of Cancer (2018) 118:1518–1528

Discussion points

1a. Using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklist, do you feel the methodology and design were appropriate to address the aims of the research?

1b. Similarly, using the CASP checklist, do you feel the data was collected in a way that addressed the research issue?

2. The article reported that people who have pre-existing conditions prior to a bladder cancer diagnosis were more likely to report poor health related quality of life (HRQL). Why do you feel this might be?

3. Some of the limitations identified by the authors of the article included relatively low response rate; the removal of a response from one of the surveys and sample selection. What impact do you feel these limitations may have had on the results of the surveys?

4. The article acknowledged that subsequent research had highlighted that there were gaps in understanding around HRQL amongst bladder cancer patients. How do you feel this could be addressed for future research projects with this cohort of patients?

5. What further research would you like to see undertaken on this topic for this cohort of patients? What impact do you feel this would have on their quality of life?

Oncology Journal Club 30th April 2019

Please request the article via the link below and you will receive it by email.

Oral care in cancer: helping patients with tooth, gum and mouth problems

Questions

1. The article highlights some common side effects experienced by patients during their cancer treatment. How reflective is this list, of patients you have supported during their treatment?

2. With an increased focus on health care professionals making every contact count, do you feel that this training will have a positive effect on how you conduct conversations with patients on oral health care?

3. The article mentions the "Stephan Curve".

·         Are you familiar with this model?

·         Do you feel this could be effectively used to aid oral health conversations with patients before, during and after their treatment?

4. Oral Mucositis, as mentioned in the article, is a common side effect of patients who are receiving chemotherapy/radiotherapy.

·         Are you currently using any grading tool to monitor this?

·         If yes, which one?

·         Do you share this information with the individual’s dental provider?

5. In view of advances for oncology treatment, (targeted therapies, immunotherapy), what impact do you believe this may have on a patient’s oral health care in the future?

6. Evidence supports that some of the acute side effects experienced by patients during their chemotherapy/radiotherapy can develop into late side effects.

·         With this in mind, do you believe that we should be working more collaboratively with our dental colleagues?

·         What would this look like?

Oncology Journal Club 30th April 2019

This month we will be discussing 
the impact of cancer treatments on the oral health of patients.

We are very excited to welcome Jocelyn Harding as our guest speaker.

Oncology Journal Club 26th February 2019

Join us tomorrow, over on Twitter to discuss the following topic. 

Article access is available through OpenAthens, via the link below.

Association between cachexia, chemotherapy and outcomes in older cancer patients: A systematic review

Clinical Nutrition, 2017-12-01, Volume 36, Issue 6, Pages 1473-1482

A PDF version of the Mini MNA is available here.

Questions

Oncology Journal Club 20th November 2018 12:30pm

We are very excited to welcome our first guest co-host, Dr Ralph Manders from the University of Surrey. 

Ralph co-authored the research poster that will form the basis of our discussion on the 20th November. 

Access the poster here.



Questions

Oncology Journal Club 25th September 2018

Article access (via OpenAthens)

Please read the article and consider the questions in time for the session.

Improving the care of cancerpatients: holistic needs assessment

Questions

1.    “HNAs should be undertaken at diagnosis and re-evaluated at strategic points in every patient’s journey” as advised by Macmillan Cancer Support. Based on your experience does this happen? Is it feasible? What would you consider strategic points in the patient’s journey?

2.    The article states that “HNAs need to be meaningful to all involved, however, if patients perceived their participation in the assessment as merely a tick-box exercise, there was unlikely to be any discussion about identified areas of distress”. Based on your experience do you agree/disagree with this statement and why?

3.    What challenges have you experienced when completing HNAs within your area of care? Are these similar to those identified within the article?

4.    How have you overcome these challenges? Did you feel the article highlighted realistic solutions to the challenges faced by staff when completing HNAs?

5.    What training have you benefitted from to support you with implementing HNAs in your area?

6.    What further training would you like to see to support you moving forward with implementing HNAs.

Using Twitter at Work

We know that Twitter can be a daunting part of the social media landscape. It can however, be a very powerful and useful tool for maximising your professional and educational development. Come along to one of the 30 minute sessions to find out how it can benefit your professional practice.

#OncJnlClub Session Summary

Our second Oncology Journal Club was held on 12th June 2018 and was even more successful than the first! We held two sessions in the Library for those who wanted some Twitter support and to say hello.

You can access a summary of the chat via the link below.

Recent Advances in the Field of Anti-Cancer Immunotherapy - 12th June 2018

This month's topic is...

Recent advances in the field of anti-cancer immunotherapy. 

Tuesday 12th June

12:15 - 13:00

13:15 - 14:00

You can access the article below. Please contact the Library via email, or on our Twitter page if you have any questions.

Article

Recent advances in the field of anti-cancer immunotherapy, BBA Clinical, Volume 3, June 2015, pp.280-288

Discussion Points

• Based on the evidence of this article what future implications do you think immunotherapy will have for our patients?

• What benefits do you feel immunotherapy offers patients versus current chemotherapy regimes?

• What impact do you feel this will have on the current workforce?

• In your current role, what role do you feel immunotherapy may play as a form of treatment for your patients?

• What impact do you feel immunotherapy will have on the current care you deliver to your patients?

• Did you feel that the article presented relevant evidence supporting the recent advances in immunotherapy?

Topic: The impact of Aspirin on the reduction of the recurrence of bowel cancer.

Tuesday 15th May

10:30 - 11:15 & 12:00 - 12:45

Article access

If you have not already done so, you will need to register for an OpenAthens account to be able to access the article. There is a link to the registration form on the right. Please contact the Library if you have any problems.

Examining the impact of regular aspirin use and PIK3CA mutations on survival in stage 2 colon cancer, Internal Medicine Journal, 2017 Jan;47(1):88-98.

Discussion points

1. Based on the evidence in this article, what future implications do you think there might be on practice for patients with a diagnosis of colorectal cancer?
2. What potential impact do you think taking aspirin long term may have on patients? (both positive & negative)
3. Do you believe taking aspirin amongst patients with a colorectal diagnosis will become mainstream treatment?
4. What do you feel may be the future implications of this research? 
5. Could aspirin be used as a prophylactic measure for those who have a strong family history of colorectal cancer in their family prior to them receiving a diagnosis?

Further reading

Aspirin & Bowel Cancer - Bowel Cancer UK


Clinical trials
Add Aspirin
This trial is looking at whether aspirin can help stop cancer coming back after treatment in people with early-stage cancer. It is recruiting new people to take part in the trial until the end of September 2021.

CaPP3
This trial is comparing different doses of aspirin, to see the effect on cancer risk in people with Lynch syndrome.

A study looking at whether aspirin and tricagrelar affects how cancer spreads
This study is looking at the effect of aspirin and a drug called ticagrelor on how cancer spreads. It is recruiting people with bowel cancer than has spread to another part of the body until 2 November 2019.

ASPIRE
This trial is looking to see if aspirin helps radiotherapy to work better in people having radiotherapy before surgery for rectal cancer. Recruitment ends on 31 May 2016.

How to Twitter Journal Club...

See our tips for joining #OncJnlClub below.

You can lurk, like, retweet or comment. It's a brilliant experience and a great way to network and share professional knowledge.

1. Follow @OncJnlClub on Twitter. Look out for the next meeting date and article access information.

2. Read the article! It will usually be via a link to OpenAthens (link in menu) on Twitter and on this blog one-two weeks before, with the topics for the chat and further reading. Please contact RSCH Library for assistance.

3. There will be a 10 minute warning before the session starts. Once it begins, introduce yourself - tell the group who you are and what you do.

4. Each chat will last between 45 mins to an hour. The discussion can be fast and difficult to keep up with, so it can be helpful to use a tool to help organise and filter tweets. Tweetchat, Hootsuite or Tweetdeck are very good for making Chats more manageable.

5. Go back and look at your notifications afterwards – it’s easy to miss messages and comments as tweets fly by very quickly.

6. Always use the #OncJnlClub or your tweets won't be seen.

7. See this handy infographic from We Communities for more tips.