Prostate Cancer Care.pdf

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed solid organ malignancy for men in the US, with approximately 190,000 new diagnoses and over 33,000 deaths estimated in 2020. The American Urological Association (AUA) and Pfizer Oncology collaborated on a process improvement project to study advanced prostate cancer (APC) patient management, surveying healthcare providers to assess current practice patterns. The survey found that 63% of respondents were urologists, 27% were Advanced Practice Practitioners (APP), and 58% came from a urology group. Results showed discrepancies in understanding of roles and responsibilities among team members, with 82% of urologists believing APPs were involved in monitoring medical regimens, while only 64% of APPs self-reported this. The survey also found that 41% of practices use an in-house pharmacy, 27% use a specialty pharmacy, and 32% refer patients to medical oncology for chemotherapy. Evidence-based clinical practice guidelines were identified as a key tool for APC clinics, with 67% of practices having processes or protocols in place to identify and treat castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) patients.