Identifying profiles and mapping the patient journey in Japan with a large-scale digital survey of patients with prostate cancer (PC): Comparison with Western countries.

Abstract

e17000 Background: A digital survey was conducted in Japan to capture patient and caregiver experiences of the PC journey, similar to a survey reported from Western countries. Methods: The survey was conducted by DontBePatient Intelligence from Sep 26 to Nov 18, 2024, assessing patient characteristics, treatments and health-related quality of life (QoL). Data were analyzed using descriptive and inductive statistics. Results: Among 1,860 respondents (median age 70) reporting a PC diagnosis: 1,441 (77.5%) had localized PC, 337 (18.1%) had advanced PC, and 82 (4.4%) did not know their cancer stage. Around half (49.4% localized, 56.3% advanced) reported stress related to travel for treatment. Although less prevalent, fatigue and nausea had the highest impact on QoL. Most patients in Japan received hormone therapy for advanced PC; half had surgery for localized PC and >90% of patients were treated by urologists (Table). About half the patients had not participated in treatment decisions, unlike in Western countries (Table). Most patients (73.4% localized, 58.2% advanced) understood their current treatment options at least reasonably well and were satisfied with their treatment decisions (78.0% vs 68.7%, respectively). However, most patients reported that they did not understand or had not heard of new treatments eg, PARP inhibitors (90.3% vs 81.0%) or radioligand therapy (70.3% vs 67.7%). Like Western countries, most patients in Japan did not engage with patient groups (Table). Most caregivers were male (87%) friends or relatives who did not live with the patient (77.2%) but in Western countries, female spouses were the main caregivers (Table). Conclusions: Patients in Japan were predominantly treated by urologists, had male caregivers and were less involved in treatment decisions than Western patients. This survey improves our understanding of how local practices and referral pathways influence treatment decisions and patient QoL. Characteristics of patients with PC in Japan vs Western countries. Japan DE UK US Localized PC Advanced PC Localized PC Advanced PC Localized PC Advanced PC Localized PC Advanced PC Treated patients 86.8% 95.5% 90.1% 96.1% 82.4% 97.2% 87.2% 97.1% Most common treatment Surgery: 51.0% Hormone therapy: 79.2% Surgery: 71.3% Hormone therapy: 64.9% Radiation therapy: 47.6% Hormone therapy: 77.3% Surgery: 57.4% Hormone therapy: 73.0% Primary specialist Urologist: 93.5% Urologist: 91.4% Urologist: 50.5% Urologist: 50.7% Urologist: 35.8% Oncologist: 46.7% Urologist: 39.5% Oncologist: 46.9% Median FACT-P score 113 101 123 109 121 106 122 107 Median PC subscale score 34 31 36 32 35 31 35 30 Patients not participating in treatment decision 47.3% 54.2% 11.2% Engagement with patient groups 4.3% 10.1% 9.3% 13.1% 15.9% 21.0% 13.5% 22.7% Primary caregiver Friends/relatives: 85.9%, mostly male Spouse: 81.7%, mostly female