Ovarian Cancer Audit Feasibility Pilot 

Nearly 6,500 women are diagnosed with ovarian cancer in England each year.[1] While there have been significant improvements in diagnosis and treatment in recent years, survival rates still trail those of other cancers and just 43 per cent of women in England survive five or more years after diagnosis.[2]

The jointly-funded Ovarian Cancer Audit Feasibility Pilot (OCAFP) in England will prepare the ground for a crucial full-scale clinical audit in ovarian cancer, which has not been seen before. The UK government funds clinical audits for other diseases and conditions, mapping care pathways, surgery and survival, and addressing regional variation. Currently there are clinical audits for cancers including lung, bowel, breast (in women over 70) and oesophago-gastric.

The ovarian cancer pilot will explore a new approach to clinical audits. Rather than collecting new data, it will make use of data routinely collected by gynae-oncology teams across the country right now, and collated, maintained and quality assured by NCRAS. If successful it is hoped the OCAFP will result in a regular audit of ovarian cancer, driving improvements in clinical practice and providing a model that can be rolled out across other cancers. While the pilot is England only, the long-term aspiration is to see audits take place across all four UK nations.

Outputs from the Ovarian Cancer Audit Feasibility Pilot can be found below: 

View OCAFP Outputs

The pilot is a joint partnership project, funded by the following partner organisations:

British Gynaecological Cancer Society 

The British Gynaecological Cancer Society (BGCS): a society of professionals dedicated to improving the care provided to patients with gynaecological cancers. The BGCS formulates and delivers policy on gynaecological cancer research, prevention, diagnosis and treatment in the United Kingdom. Members include medical practitioners, clinical nurse specialists and other allied professionals including scientists who have an interest in gynaecological cancers.

www.bgcs.org.uk 

Ovarian Cancer Action 

Ovarian Cancer Action: a UK ovarian cancer research charity with a mission to fund research that saves lives.

www.ovarian.org.uk

Target Ovarian 

Target Ovarian Cancer: a UK-wide charity that works to improve early diagnosis, fund life-saving research and provide much-needed support to women with ovarian cancer in all four nations of the UK. 

www.targetovariancancer.org.uk 

For more information concerning the audit, please contact Andy Nordin (anordin@nhs.net) consultant gynaecologist / sub-specialist gynaecological oncologist.

 


[2] Office for National Statistics (2017) Cancer Survival in England- Adults Diagnosed: 2011 to 2015, followed up to 2016. Available at: www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/conditionsanddiseases/datasets/cancersurvivalratescancersurvivalinenglandadultsdiagnosed [Accessed 30 October 2018]