More than 1300 patients with rare cancers across Australia have been referred to the ARC portal.
The ARC has assisted with a broad range of clinician requests, including access to sub-specialist opinions; identification of relevant guidelines or literature; molecular testing advice or interpretation; identification of suitable clinical trials and drug access programs, and enrolment into research programs, among others. At the time of referral, 26% of patients had received a new cancer diagnosis, 46% had progressive disease, 17% had stable disease, and 11% were in remission.
The ARC Portal is thrilled to have such a high uptake of its services and is proud to be instrumental in addressing equity by reducing disparity in access to specialist rare cancer care outside of metropolitan areas. Analysis of patient referrals coded by the Australian Statistical Standard Remoteness Structure demonstrated that 45% of ARC Portal referrals were from outside major cities (inner regional, 34%; outer regional, 8%; remote or very remote, 3%).
The ARC Portal wishes to thank all of its referrers and supporters for their ongoing contribution and looks forward to celebrating breaking the 1500 referrals mark soon.