Prostate Cancer

The Problem

Prostate cancer (PC) is the most common male cancer worldwide. Each year 10,000 UK men are diagnosed with advanced disease and incidence has increased by 41% since the early 1990s. Hormonal therapy and early chemotherapy have led to much improved patient outcomes and for patients even with advanced disease. During these treatments, prostate cancer behaves like a chronic disease, requiring stable medication and regular monitoring.

These undoubted patient benefits come at a cost. They have led to increased demands, placing major strains on the health service which is approaching a capacity crisis. The personal and financial cost to men and their families is also substantial requiring more frequent appointments for blood tests, toxicity monitoring and up to 15 clinic visits per year.

Our Solution

Our innovative digital platform (Ascelus™) can address the challenges in managing patients with prostate cancer, especially when patients are on oral therapy, by reducing the requirement to attend hospital whilst maintaining full communication between patient, GP and the hospital. The AscelusTM digital platform integrates with NHS IT systems and allows patients to be securely linked via their mobile phone or tablet with their existing clinical team, allowing face-to-face outpatient appointments to be replaced by a convenient mobile interaction.

Ascelus features:

Patients

Patients can record symptoms.

Results

Receive clinical advice & text results

Medication

Check for medication interactions

Appointments

Book appointments via their device

Research, Innovate, Evaluate

We’ve received to two grants from the National Institute for Health & Care Research (NIHR) to ensure Ascelus drives substantial benefits for both patients and the NHS.

Project 1) In partnership with Sheffield Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust we delivered a feasibility study to assess patient and clinician experience, empowerment, and engagement of the use of Ascelus in advanced prostate cancer patients. Results demonstrated the platforms potential to both improve patient outcomes and reduce workload for health professionals. Read more in our Press Release.

Project 2) In partnership with the University of Sheffield we will further develop Ascelus so it is accessible and meets the requirements of African and Caribbean men who have four times higher risk of prostate cancer. Our research also aims to build a deeper understanding of the clinical opportunities and barriers to using Ascelus to remotely monitor patients with prostate cancer.