Statistically Significant Knowledge Gains for Esophagogastric Cancer Care
Expert Perspectives · Lyn Brook · 2024-08-09
Recently, i3 Health provided an educational activity that has challenged knowledge gaps experienced by clinicians regarding building comprehensive care plans for esophagogastric cancers.
Esophagogastric cancers include tumors of the esophagus, esophageal junction, and stomach. Esophageal cancers are the 20th most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States, but the 11th leading cause of cancer death, with an estimated 22,370 cases diagnosed annually and 16,130 deaths estimated in 2024 by the American Cancer Society. Given the poor prognosis of esophagogastric cancers and the complexity of personalized care planning, interdisciplinary teamwork is critical for optimizing outcomes for patients.
To address the knowledge gaps experienced by clinicians for building comprehensive care plans for esophagogastric cancers, a Virtual Tumor Board was assembled consisting of three expert faculty in the field of esophagogastric cancers: Jaffer Ajani, MD, Professor in the Department of GI Medical Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center; Lei Zhao, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pathology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital; and Kelley A. Rone, DNP, RN, AGNP-c, Advanced Practice Nurse at Mayo Clinic.
The activity recording was made available on i3 Health’s website from April 24, 2023, through April 23, 2024. A total of 1,062 individuals participated in the activity, with 710 completing the activity for continuing medical education (CME)/nursing continuing professional development (NCPD) credit. The majority of learners were registered nurses, followed by physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and those who chose “other” as their profession.
Included with the activity was a Clinical Decision Aid, which had 2,645 downloads, and an Additional Advances interview with Dr. Ajani discussing updates in research and clinical trial data approximately six months after the activity’s initial recording, which saw 361 video views and podcast listens.
The baseline data collected revealed knowledge gaps in the following areas:
- Distinguishing patient and tumor characteristics, including biomarkers, that can inform personalized therapeutic approaches in esophagogastric cancer
- Evaluating emerging efficacy and safety data on novel therapies for esophagogastric cancer, including tumors of the stomach, esophagus, and esophagogastric junction
- Appraising multidisciplinary strategies to optimize treatment outcomes of patients with esophagogastric cancer
Participants were given a matching pretest and posttest at the beginning and end of the activity, respectively. Statistically significant learning gains were made between the pretest and posttest:
Upon completion of the activity, 93% of learners reported that they felt more confident in treating their patients with esophagogastric cancers, and 91% reported that they felt that 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 building comprehensive care plans for esophagogastric cancers. Based on these data, i3 Health has determined that the multidisciplinary team may benefit from CME/NCPD activities that provide esophagogastric cancer education on:
- Biomarker and patient and tumor characteristics to guide therapy selection
- Recent clinical trial findings on efficacy and safety of emerging therapies
- Multidisciplinary strategies to optimize treatment outcomes
Resources
i3 Health (2024). Virtual tumor board: building comprehensive care plans in esophagogastric cancers: activity outcomes report. Data on file.