ThinkCancer! Phase III RCT
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A randomised controlled phase III trial of a novel behavioural intervention for primary care teams to promote the earlier diagnosis of cancer (ThinkCancer!)
IRAS ID
316593
Contact name
Clare Wilkinson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Bangor University
ISRCTN Number
ISRCTN43757325
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 9 months, 30 days
Research summary
Cancer diagnosis can be delayed in primary care. Our goal is to help general practices recognise possible cancers earlier which will lead to better outcomes for patients.
We have developed a unique educational and behavioural package called ‘ThinkCancer!’. This involves three workshops for all staff in a practice team. We have tested ‘ThinkCancer!’ in a small pilot study in Wales, which showed that it can work well in primary care. We learned important lessons about how the workshops should be delivered, and the best ways to collect information from practices.
Our aim now is to undertake a larger trial with 76 practices to test how well ThinkCancer! works and whether it is cost effective for the NHS. We will assess the effect of ThinkCancer! by measuring the time between a patient first contacting their general practice with a potential cancer symptom and their referral to hospital. A reduction in this time is known to be linked with earlier stage of cancer at diagnosis, needing less treatment, and costing the NHS less overall.
An embedded process evaluation will involve qualitative interviews with key stakeholder groups throughout. We will capture patient and carer perspectives by conducting qualitative interviews with people who have experienced a referral for a possible cancer symptom and people close to them. A case note review will give an understanding of factors which contribute to longer waits for patients.
We have worked closely with patients throughout the development of ThinkCancer! and will form a Patient Advisory Group of four to six people who will help ensure that patient views are fully represented as we interpret the results.REC name
Wales REC 1
REC reference
23/WA/0137
Date of REC Opinion
4 May 2023
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion