(ANSA) – ROME, NOV 14 – A task force of 21 experts from clinicians, patients and institutions will analyze the current model of care for bladder cancer – the fourth most common type of neoplasm by incidence after the age of 50 – with the goal of identifying critical issues and designing a future model of care. It is the U-Change project, conceived and implemented by Nume Plus and presented at the 5th congress of the Palinuro association. “As part of the U-CHANGE project – declares Sergio Bracarda, director of the Department of Oncology and SC Medical and Translational Oncology of the Santa Maria di Terni Hospital and President of SIUrO, the Italian Society of Uro-Oncology – we have created a multidimensional consensus, with the ambitious goal, for the first time, to put on the same level the different actors who intercept the patient affected by advanced bladder cancer in the various stages of his journey: clinicians, patient associations, caregivers, physiotherapists, nurses, sector journalists , hospital pharmacists, directors of ASL and hospital structures, national, regional and local health economists. In this way, the whole panel of experts explored the different dimensions, discussing and agreeing both the current limitations of the models of care and the improvement proposals for the construction of an even more effective future model of care “. Bladder cancer is the fourth most common cancer after age 50. In Italy in 2021 this neoplasm was diagnosed in 25,500 people and caused over 6,000 deaths. “This tumor – explains Dr. Bracarda – initially develops in the inner lining of the bladder (urothelium), but can spread to the muscle wall that surrounds it and reach the lymph nodes or other organs such as lungs, liver, bones. For this reason, a diagnosis timely is fundamental, because it influences future survival, as well as the therapeutic approach which, depending on the stage of the tumor, also includes interventions combined between surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy “. A survey by Nume Plus of 1,000 people aged 18 and over found that 61% never went to their doctor to report signs or symptoms such as blood in their urine or burning when urinating. 34% do not know which specialist is dealing with this pathology, only 52% know that the main cause is smoking while almost 50% are convinced that the main risk factor is genetic predisposition. (HANDLE).
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