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Advanced Prostate Cancer Consensus Conference (APCCC): Asia-Pacific (APAC) Satellite Symposium
In advanced prostate cancer, fast and effective drug development has resulted in many treatment options and these all require careful decision-making for each patient. Clinicians face the progressively challenging task of selecting from multiple potentially effective treatments that are also costly and possibly toxic. Further developments in novel next-generation imaging methods, biomarkers, molecular characterisation, and genetic testing have led to many questions and areas for which there is little evidence to support clinical decision-making.
The Advanced Prostate Cancer Consensus Conference (APCCC) was initiated several years ago and held every second year in Switzerland. This conference provides a forum to discuss and debate current questions on the clinical management of men with advanced prostate cancer, with a special focus on these unclear decisionmaking situations.
Helping ensure the decisions made are relevant and can be implemented in the Asia Pacific region, ANZUP now hosts the Advanced Prostate Cancer Consensus Conference (APCCC), Asia-Pacific (APAC) Satellite Symposium every two years. A group of APAC key opinion leaders in prostate cancer meet to consider the recommendations of the Advanced Prostate Cancer Consensus Conference.
On Monday 26 October 2020 ANZUP hosted the 2nd Advanced Prostate Cancer Consensus Conference (APCCC), Asia-Pacific (APAC) Satellite Symposium virtual meeting. The meeting involved 25 multidisciplinary clinicians from 14 countries: Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam. Participants were selected based on their expertise in the management of advanced prostate cancer in their respective region. There is great diversity in the Asia-Pacific region from a disease, epidemiological, genetics, social, and healtheconomic perspective. This leads to differences in views of each local key opinion leader who attended the symposium.
The purpose of APAC APCCC 2020 was to:
• provide an opportunity for real-world consideration of the consensus recommendations from APCCC 2019 as they apply in the Asia-Pacific region;
• consider any additional evidence published since APCCC 2019 that may influence consensus recommendations;
• provide an opportunity to consider the impact of
COVID-19 on management of advanced prostate cancer in the Asia-Pacific region.
The meeting focused on five topics discussed at APCCC viewed as most critical for the Asia-Pacific region, as well as an additional discussion about the impact of COVID-19.
Overall the panellist feedback at the APAC APCCC meeting largely aligned with the areas of consensus from APCCC 2019. However, variations in practice were noted and this demonstrated that the reality of practice cannot always conform with best practice recommendations because of resource constraints.
Following this meeting an article will be written summarising the outcomes and will reflect on the relevance for the Asia Pacific region of findings from the 2019 St Gallen Advanced Prostate Consensus Conference. This article will then be submitted for publication in the BJU International journal – one of the most highly respected medical journals in the world.
ANZUP hopes this symposium continues as an ongoing series of meetings to provide a platform to discuss the real-world application of evidence to the management of patients in the Asia Pacific region. The commitment and interest of panellists demonstrates significant enthusiasm in working together to consider topics important to the region.
