Multi-morbidity, frailty and an ageing cancer population – Harnessing health data to personalise decision making.
Supervisors:
Dr Ify Mordi, School of Medicine (University of Dundee)
Prof Peter Hall, Edinburgh Cancer Research Centre (University of Edinburgh)
Dr Mark Baxter, School of Medicine (University of Dundee)
Prof Chim Lang, School of Medicine (University of Dundee)
Summary:
The number of older adults with a diagnosis of cancer is increasing – by 2035, two in every three patients diagnosed with cancer will be aged 65 and older. As individuals age, they tend to experience an increase in health issues (co-morbidities). The most common is cardiovascular disease (CVD) which can develop or be exacerbated as a result of cancer treatment.
CVD and multimorbidity are linked to lower cancer survival rates as well as a higher chance of side effects from treatments, however data is lacking. Currently, it is difficult to accurately predict the CVD risks of treatment and the impact of treatment on future CVD and multimorbidity risk. This is primarily due to the exclusion of older adults and those with co-morbidities or frailty from clinical trials that inform treatment decisions. As a result, both healthcare providers and patients face significant challenges in determining the most appropriate treatment option and follow up.
This project seeks to address this unmet research need by making use of existing electronic healthcare data. Specifically, the aim is to use existing health data to create personalised multimorbidity decision aids that doctors can use in clinical practice to improve patient outcomes.