Enhancing Knowledge of Advanced Renal Cell Carcinoma Treatment and Patient Care
Expert Perspectives · Lyn Brook · 2024-07-26
Recently, i3 Health provided an educational activity that has challenged knowledge gaps experienced by clinicians regarding patient outcomes for advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC).
Renal cell carcinoma comprises 2.4% of malignancies in adults worldwide. It is estimated that 81,610 new cases of kidney cancer are expected to be diagnosed in the US in 2024, with 14,390 resulting in death. RCC is characterized by a lack of early warning signs, diverse clinical manifestations, and resistance to radiation and chemotherapy. Several new therapies have been approved for RCC in recent years; therefore, it is important for the cancer care team to update their knowledge of RCC pathophysiology and the benefits and risks of novel therapies.
The activity consisted of a live symposium held at the 2023 Society of Government Service Urologists (SGSU Meeting), followed by an online activity on the i3 Health website. Dr. Eric Jonasch, Professor in the Department of Genitourinary Oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, served as chair. Between the live symposium and online activity, a total of 9,589 individuals participated, with 620 learners completing the activity for credit. Most learners were registered nurses and physicians, followed by nurse practitioners, physician assistants, advanced practice nurses, and those who chose “other” as their profession. Among those who completed the activity for credit, the average number of patients with RCC seen per month was seven.
The baseline data collected revealed knowledge gaps in the following areas:
- Discussing the immunogenicity of RCC and the implications for the treatment of advanced disease
- Assessing criteria for risk stratification of patients with advanced RCC
- Evaluating recent clinical trial findings on novel treatment strategies for advanced RCC with checkpoint inhibitors and VEGFR-directed therapies
Participants were given a matching pretest and posttest at the beginning and end of the activity, respectively, revealing the following results:
Live Symposium Data:
Online Activity Data:
Upon completion of the activity, 89% of learners reported that they felt more confident in treating their patients with RCC, and 91% reported that they felt the material presented would be used to improve the outcomes of their patients.
The data revealed by the posttest assessment affirm the effectiveness of online educational content pertaining to the topic of treatment and patient care of advanced RCC. Based on these data, i3 Health has determined that the multidisciplinary team may benefit from CME activities that provide renal cancer education on criteria for risk stratification for patients, patient- and tumor-related factors that can influence treatment selection, and recent clinical trial findings on efficacy and safety of emerging therapies.
Resources
i3 Health (2024). Cracking the code for improved patient outcomes in advanced renal cell carcinoma: activity outcomes report. Data on file.