Results from the International Kidney Cancer Coalition (IKCC) global patient survey, conducted in 43 countries and almost 2,000 kidney cancer patients and carers, were presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) conference in Barcelona earlier this month. In this video interview, Dr Eric Jonasch, medical oncologist from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, USA and IKCC Board Director spoke about two of the key findings from the survey.

The 35-question survey was designed to identify geographic variations in patient education, experience and awareness, access to care, best practices, quality of life, involvement in clinical trials, and to highlight unmet needs.

Two of the key findings from the survey were as follows:

  1. 70% of individuals who had renal cell carcinoma (RCC) were never asked to participate in a clinical trial, whereas 89% of individuals stated that if they had been asked, they would participate
  2. 29% of patients say that they weren’t at all engaged in shared decision-making with the physician, that basically the physician was making all of the decisions for them.

 

The survey highlighted the unmet needs of kidney cancer patients and needs further investigation. The survey was the first global survey of kidney cancer patients and carers, and serves as a benchmark for future data collection. Key conclusions from the survey suggest there is a need to improve communication with patients about diagnosis, psychosocial impacts, and clinical trials.

Watch Dr Jonasch’s interview on Practice Update here