USQ professor Jeff Dunn secures $2.3m funding for prostate cancer trial

A scientist and advocate has secured more than $2 million for a project which aims to help thousands of men and their families in the battle with prostate cancer.

A local health champion has secured more than $2 million in funding to undertake a world-first trial exploring a new model of care for men with prostate cancer and their families.

Professor Jeff Dunn AO was awarded a National Health and Medical Research Council partnership grant of $1.13 million which will be matched by local, national and international health partners as part of a total injection of $2.25 million into the research.

The trial will test the clinical and cost effectiveness of nurse-led survivorship care for improving the health and wellbeing of men on hormone therapy for prostate cancer.

Professor Jeff Dunn AO is CEO of the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia.

Professor Dunn is CEO of the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia, a West Moreton Health board member and behavioural scientist at the University of Southern Queensland.

He is also an honorary life president of the Asia Pacific Organisation for Cancer Prevention.

The four-year project is aimed at helping thousands of men across Australia in their battle with prostate cancer.

Although hormone therapy slows the progression of the disease, it also causes loss of muscle mass and bone density, sexual dysfunction and other chronic health conditions including cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

“Prostate cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in Australian men, with more than 230,000 men alive today after a diagnosis,” Professor Dunn said.

“While survival rates have never been better, we now have more men diagnosed with prostate cancer living much longer, therefore the focus on survivorship care after treatment has never been more important.”

Between 30 and 50 per cent of all men diagnosed with prostate cancer undergo hormone treatment.

“In addition to the substantial physical side effects, the supportive care needs of men on hormone therapy are not adequately addressed or treated right now, with many men experiencing unmet informational, psychological, and sexual help needs,” Professor Dunn said.

“Of concern, compared to men with prostate cancer who are not on hormone therapy, these men are more likely to develop mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety, and are at a higher risk of suicide.

“PCFA’s Prostate Cancer Specialist Nursing Service has around 100 nurses nationwide who help those affected by prostate cancer at all stages.

“This funding will allow us to establish whether we can develop even more tailored care for men on hormone therapy, who face challenges unlike those experienced by other men with prostate cancer.

“The project will vastly improve our understanding of how specialised support can improve quality of life and survivorship outcomes for men on hormone therapy, who have had their needs ignored for too long.”

More than 200 men will participate in the trial, which will use framework developed by the USQ in collaboration with the PCFA and NHMRC’s Centre of Research Excellence in Prostate Cancer Survivorship.

Specially-trained PCFA nurses will guide participants through four telehealth sessions over a four-week period, with a booster session a month later.

“If we prove this works, which we believe it will, our aim is to have this service made available to every man diagnosed with prostate cancer on hormone therapy,” Professor Dunn said.

“We will be able to achieve this goal by working with our wide range of high-quality partners to integrate this service into mainstream practice.”

Groups supporting USQ with the project include: Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia, Cancer Council Queensland, Australian Prostate Centre, Ipswich West Moreton Hospital Health Service, GenesisCare, Icon Group, Healthy Male and the Union for International Cancer Control.

Read more stories by Lachlan McIvor here.