Prostate Cancer (PCa) is the second leading cause of cancer among men in Europe. There are currently major unmet needs in this field, such as insufficient knowledge on risk factors that contribute to PCa and on patient characteristics (including genetic profiles) that could facilitate patient stratification. Finally, there is lack of meaningful engagement of all key stakeholders, while the knowledge currently gained from clinical practice and real-life data is not being fed back into PCa patients’ care pathways. There is thus a need for better definition of PCa across all stages, improved patient’s stratification at diagnosis and standardisation of PCa-related outcomes based on real-life data.
PIONEER’s unique dual approach is to first identify critical evidence gaps in PCa by respected key opinion leaders and then embark on a research priority setting exercise that reflects the needs of all key stakeholders in PCa management. In over 5 years of working together in a multidisciplinary team of leading professionals in their fields of expertise, the IMI2-funded project PIONEER has created a legacy by delivering on the following topics: identification of 56 prioritised research questions out of which the top five questions about the diagnosis and management of PCa were prioritised. To address these, the team developed the unique central and federated state-of-the-art PIONEER Big Data analytic platform for prostate cancer, over which 40 harmonised datasets were made available for research. PIONEER conducted three international large-scale study-a-thons and has established over a dozen different research teams looking at specific research questions. With the help of intensive patient participation, PIONEER has published core outcome sets for prostate cancer that were endorsed by the European Association of Urology, recommended a minimum set of clinician- and patient-reported outcomes (PROMs), provided definitions of each, and recommended PROMs for use in routine practice and research settings. Furthermore, PIONEER has developed and launched an online search tool for prostate cancer diagnostic and prognostic factors. Although, the grant period of the project ended in October 2023, PIONEER will continue as PIONEER+ and will be integrated into European Association of Urology’s UroEvidenceHub initiative as the hub for prostate cancer research support.
STICHTING EUROPEAN UROLOGICAL FOUNDATION, Netherlands