For Patients
A clinical trial is a scientific study or test that involves volunteer patients. Trials can confirm whether medicines or treatments are safe and effective for particular diseases. By testing these treatments on people affected by the disease, researchers can more thoroughly assess how effective it is, and how it works. The results from many clinical trials have lead to the development of medicines that have saved thousands of lives every year. Each trial is led by a doctor, and is accompanied by a team including doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and other health care professionals. The health and well being of all participants is closely monitored before, during, and after the clinical trial.
The Multidisciplinary Team Clinic
Do you have Prostate Cancer?
Current Clinical Trials
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The Multidisciplinary Team Clinic
The Multidisciplinary Team for Advanced Prostate Cancer Clinical Trials unit strives to be an active leader in national and international clinical trials. It uniquely combines the expertise of urology, medical oncology, radiation oncology, and endocrinology for the treatment of prostate cancer.
Queensland Health and the Princess Alexandra Hospital are collaborating with the Australian Prostate Cancer Research Centre – Queensland to provide a Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) Clinic for advanced prostate cancer patients, based at the Hospital.
What is the aim of this clinic?
A multidisciplinary team clinic brings together specialists from the many fields involved in prostate cancer management into one forum to discuss and plan the best management for individual prostate cancer patients. The specialists involved include Urologists, Radiation and Medical Oncologists, Endocrinologists, Radiologists, and Palliative Care Physicians, as well as specialist nurses, psychologists, dieticians and other allied health faculty. The Clinic strives to maintain close liaison with the referring physicians. Unless circumstances demand that further management of a given patient would be more appropriate under the auspices of the Clinic, it will make appropriate recommendations and return the ongoing care back to the referring doctor or unit.
What can be achieved?
These types of meetings have been shown to improve patient care by ensuring the right specialists are involved in a team, to create a holistic plan tailored to each patient’s individual needs. It also facilitates patient access to important clinical trials and the most up to date treatments, which aims to improve outcomes for prostate cancer patients.
Who can be involved?
This MDT Clinic has been organised to enable advanced prostate cancer patients from Queensland to achieve the best possible care for their disease. The Clinic would be delighted to have input from any person/organisations involved in the care of patients with advanced prostate cancer. Referring physicians are also encouraged to attend in-person to present relevant cases for further discussion and advice.
If you are a patient who is interested in being involved, please discuss with your doctor/s if a referral might suit your care needs.
Email: MDT_ProstateCancer@health.qld.gov.au Phone: +61 7 3176 3228
Do you have Prostate Cancer?
If you have prostate cancer and are interested in assisting with research, the MDT Team would like to hear from you.
Are you interested in assisting with research?
If you think you fit into any of the following groups:
- You are or will be receiving hormone therapy long-term
- You are receiving short-term hormone therapy prior to a course of radiotherapy
- You do or do not have metastases
Then we are interested in hearing from you!
What do we hope to achieve?
We are examining the side effects of hormone therapy for prostate cancer. One common side effect is Metabolic Syndrome, which can include some or all of the following side effects: weight gain, increased cholesterol, and increased insulin levels. We are interested in determining the effects, if any, that these changes may have on prostate cancer progression.
What would it involve for you?
We require information about your prostate cancer and treatments to date, and your recent PSA measurements. It requires the donation of a blood sample to look at markers that may be related to the progression of prostate cancer. While participating in this study will not directly benefit you, we hope that our findings will prove extremely useful for improving the outlook of future patients with prostate cancer.
How do I find out more?
If you would like more information, please contact:
Ms Linda Crook
MDT Coordinator
Ph: +61 7 3176 3228
Email: MDT_ProstateCancer@health.qld.gov.au
Other Clinical Trials Resources
Several of our partner organisations are involved in, and conduct clinical trials. The following sites can give prospective participants more information:
The Australian and New Zealand Urogenital and Prostate Cancer Trials Group (ANZUP)
The Trans-Tasman Radiation Oncology Group (TROG)
