QEII Hospital has recruited the first Australian patient to participate in the international Pathway of Low Anterior Resection Syndrome (LARS) relief after Surgery (POLARiS) trial.
The multi-arm cohort study seeks to evaluate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of trans-anal irrigation or sacral neuromodulation compared with optimised conservative management for people with major LARS.
The two-year study is recruiting 1,500 UK participants and 500 Australian participants who have undergone a high or low anterior resection for colorectal cancer in the last 10 years and are experiencing LARS.
The symptoms of LARS have a negative impact on the quality of person’s life including faecal incontinence or leakage, frequency or urgency of stools, loose stools, incomplete bowel movement, or tenesmus.
The QEII clinical team is led by Colorectal Surgeon Dr Andrea Warwick (right), with recruitment managed by Colorectal Clinical Research Nurse and trial coordinator, Sharan Burton (not pictured) at QEII’s Colorectal and Pelvic Floor Department. Additional clinical support is provided by Clinical Nurse Consultant Sharon Price (front centre) and two Clinical Nurses (back).
Participants are recruited between two clinical pathways: a cohort trial pathway and a randomised control therapy pathway.
“The cohort trial asks participants to submit questionnaires every three months, and the randomised control therapy is where we offer the three different treatment pathways, which we're very excited to be able to offer at QEII, so we hope to recruit a lot of patients here,” explained Sharan.
As advancements in medicine improve postoperative outcomes and life expectancy, the rising prevalence of LARS in this patient cohort emphasises the need for interventions that enhance quality of life.
“People are living a lot longer after a cancer diagnosis and treatment, which is fantastic. But as they live longer, we are noticing the rate of LARS increases, and that causes a range of issues from faecal urgency to faecal incontinence. These symptoms have a huge impact on day-to-day life,” explained Sharan.
“Our hope is that through this study, the patients’ quality of life will be much improved and that the symptoms that have brought them to us will be alleviated.”
POLARiS represents the first trial of its kind and scale in Australia, and a significant milestone for the QEII team, who are proud to be at the forefront of this important study.
“Oncology trials are hugely funded, but surgical trials are not, so it’s a real feather in Dr Warwick’s cap that she was able to get this up and running, because she’s done a huge amount of work behind the scenes,” said Sharan.
“Recruiting the first patient to the randomised control therapy is also a huge achievement for QEII, and we’re excited to offer the three different treatments here. It's a huge team effort with a lot of people involved, so it’s a bit of a whole-of-department trial at the same time.”