The 2017 Advanced Prostate Cancer Consensus Conference (APCCC) convened an international multidisciplinary panel to vote on controversial issues in the management of advanced prostate cancer (APC). We aimed to compare their conclusions with the opinions of local specialists and explore the practicability of international recommendations in the healthcare setting in Hong Kong.
Urologists and clinical oncologists practicing in Hong Kong were invited to complete a survey based on the original APCCC 2017 questionnaire and recently published trials in APC. A joint committee of expert key opinion leaders was convened to discuss and analyze the voting differences between local specialists and the APCCC 2017 panel.
The respondents constituted 21% (28/132) of registered urologists and 21% (31/146) of clinical oncologists in Hong Kong. Discrepancies in three key areas were identified as being the most timely for this analysis: (a) management of metastatic hormone-sensitive/naïve prostate cancer; (b) management of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer; and (c) treatment monitoring and initiation of androgen-deprivation therapy. Fears of toxicity and intolerance among patients and physicians (especially urologists) may be driving the relative underuse of chemotherapy in multiple APC patient groups in Hong Kong. Local patients can face long wait times and limited access to contemporary imaging modalities compared with other developed countries.
Increased collaborative efforts by urologists and clinical oncologists could ensure that patients gain wider access to the latest diagnostic, treatment and monitoring modalities for APC in Hong Kong.
Asia-Pacific journal of clinical oncology. 2019 Oct 23 [Epub ahead of print]
Darren Ming-Chun Poon, Wai-Kit Ma, Tim-Wai Chan, Franklin Kwok-Leung Ho, Lap-Yin Ho, Angus Kwong-Chuen Leung, Simon Yiu-Lam Leung, Henry Chun-Kin Sze, Philip Wai-Kay Kwong, Eddie Shu-Yin Chan
State Key Laboratory of Translational Oncology, Department of Clinical Oncology, Sir YK Pao Centre for Cancer, Hong Kong Cancer Institute and Prince of Wales Hospital, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong., Department of Surgery, Queen Mary Hospital, University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam, Hong Kong., Department of Clinical Oncology, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Kowloon, Hong Kong., Medicare Group Medical Centre, Units 2607, 2610-11, 26/F, Miramar Tower, 132 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong., Asia Clinic, Kowloon, Hong Kong., AMO Oncology Centre, Kowloon, Hong Kong., Central Urology Clinic, Kowloon, Hong Kong., HEAL Oncology, Unit 16C, Entertainment Building, 30 Queen's Road Central, Hong Kong., Hong Kong Integrated Oncology Centre, Central, Hong Kong., Specialists Central, Unit 2503-05, The Galleria, No. 9 Queen's Road Central, Central, Hong Kong.