The plan for this PSP for Skin Cancer Surgery was put forward by two Consultant Dermatologists Dr Aaron Wernham and Dr David Veitch and was submitted as an idea for the UK Dermatology Clinical Trials Network (UKDCTN) themed call 2019 funding award. Following their successful application, this work aimed to prioritise future research efforts related to surgical treatment for skin cancer. The project completed in July 2022 with publication of the final report – click here to access the final report via the JLA website.
What is a Priority Setting Partnership (PSP)?
The aim of a PSP was to identify what areas of research are important to patients, families, carers and clinicians. PSPs use a tried and tested method which has been developed by James Lind Alliance (JLA). This enables patients, carers and clinicians to come together on an equal footing to develop a ‘Top 10’ list of unanswered research questions or topics. The scope of this PSP is quite broad as it includes all surgical treatments for all types of skin cancer. The steering group therefore decided it will aim to identify a “Top 10” for primary skin cancer surgery (i.e. the first presentation of a skin cancer) and a “Top 10” for surgical treatment of local or regional recurrence of skin cancer (i.e. when it comes back near the scar site or in the nearby lymph glands).
Why did we undertake this project?
In the past, the majority of research has traditionally been determined by the interests of pharmaceutical companies or clinicians with a specific area of research interest. This means that topics of research may not be chosen based on what is most important to improving lives for patients and their carers. To overcome this, the Skin Cancer Surgery PSP is working to identify the most important areas for research to focus on in the future. Organisations who fund research will often take notice of PSP outcomes meaning that research seeking to answer these questions is more likely to be successfully funded.
What did this project involve?
This project started in September 2020 and is expected to run over 2 years. There are a number of stages the PSP will work through as follows.
Stage 1 – Setting up the Steering Group
A Steering Group is required to coordinate the PSP and organise its activities. They create a plan of action, or ‘protocol’ for the project. The Steering Group is Chaired by an adviser from the JLA. Members of the Steering Group include professionals, parents and patient representatives. A list of Steering Group members can be found by clicking here
Stage 2 – Identifying partner organisations
The Steering Group will identify partner organisations who support patients or clinicians who may be interested in the outcomes of the PSP. This will includes charities, patient support groups and professional bodies. A list of our partners and organisations funding this work can be found by clicking here
Stage 3 – Collecting Evidence Uncertainties
Evidence uncertainties were gathered through a survey distributed online and on paper forms. Any patient, carer, family member or professional with experience of surgical treatment for skin cancer was able to put forward questions which they would like research to answer.
Stage 4 – Summarising the responses gathered
Once we received all of the questions put forward by the public and experts, we removed any duplications and those questions falling outside of the scope of the PSP. The raw data was converted by members of the steering group and supporting members into “real” questions which researchers can use.
Stage 5 – Evidence checking
With the help of an information specialist, the steering group and supporting members checked whether any questions put forward have already been answered by research by checking all available evidence. Unanswered questions were be removed.
Stage 6 – Interim priority setting
The remaining list of uncertainties were ranked by patients, carers and clinicians based on what they felt were most important to address. This involved a second survey and resulted in the top 25-30 uncertainties.
Stage 7 – Workshop
The highest ranked 26 questions were discussed in a final workshop attended by patients, carers and professionals who agreed the Top 10 list of priorities. To ensure this process was carried out fairly, 3 JLA supervisors were present.
Stage 8 – Publish and promote the Top 10 priorities
The steering group has discussed the results of the PSP and determined how to best promote the outcomes. This has included publishing outcomes in journals available to clinicians and patients and also on our website and social media. We will set up meetings with funders to notify them of the results and we will work with clinicians and patients to help address these questions in future research.
A short introductory video about the Skin Cancer Surgery PSP can be viewed below.