The SENSOR study
In the SENSOR study, we are a research group at Oslo University Hospital and the University of Oslo aiming to learn more about how differences in the diagnosis and treatment of endometrial cancer affect the diagnosis, risk of recurrence, and quality of life, particularly regarding the development of lymphedema. Because endometrial cancer is fortunately a rare disease, we will collaborate with other departments in Norway, such as St. Olav's Hospital, to better answer these questions. The study group consists of doctors, physiotherapists, health economists, and researchers. Our long-term goal is to contribute to ensuring that women with endometrial cancer receive treatment that is best adapted to the extent of the disease and the risk of recurrence while causing minimal side effects.
In the project, we will collect and record health information about patients already registered in the electronic medical record system. This includes information about age, smoking, BMI, and other diseases, as well as investigation, stage of the disease, blood tests, treatment, tumor characteristics, and information about any recurrence of cancer. At the same time, we want to conduct a survey to assess quality of life and, in particular, the occurrence of lymphedema after treatment for endometrial cancer.
Patients who have been treated at Oslo University Hospital and St. Olav's are invited to participate, and future patients undergoing surgery at Radiumhospitalet will also be invited to join.
Participants can log in to the website they receive either by mail or SMS. This website can be accessed on a computer, tablet, or smartphone by entering or clicking on the link. Participants log in with Bank ID to ensure identity and privacy. The information is stored securely and anonymously via the University of Oslo and will only be accessible to researchers in the study group. The SENSOR study will form the basis for further sub-studies of women with endometrial cancer. We plan to send participants a customized questionnaire later to see if their quality of life changes over time. In the future, it may be relevant to offer additional examinations to women who have developed lymphedema and reduced quality of life, and we will then be able to contact them again to provide further follow-up and investigation.
Experiences from this study may later help other women with endometrial cancer. We, the researchers, hope to identify factors that can contribute to women achieving the best possible quality of life and survival after treatment. Therefore, it is important that women who have been operated on with different methods and those who have received or not received post-treatment respond to the survey.
About endometrial cancer:
Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecological cancer in our part of the world. There are approximately 800 new cases each year in Norway, making it the sixth most common cancer in women, with an increasing incidence. Most cases are diagnosed at an early stage where the treatment involves a hysterectomy (removing the uterus), bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy (BSO) (removing the ovaries and fallopian tubes), and in some cases, the removal of lymph nodes. Treatment of women with early-stage, low-risk disease occurs at local hospitals. Treatment for intermediate- and high-risk patients is centralized, and in the Southern and Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority (Helse Sør-Øst), it is done at Radiumhospitalet.
The treatment of cancer patients is continually evolving as we gain new knowledge and technology. In recent years, there have been changes in surgical methods (open surgery or laparoscopic surgery) and the extent of surgery (removing all lymph nodes or only the sentinel lymph nodes) for women with endometrial cancer. In recent years, we have also gained new knowledge that endometrial cancer can be classified into new subgroups based on molecular analyses of the tumor. This information can in the future be used for better individually tailored post-surgery treatment, such as determining the need for chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or other drug treatments such as immunotherapy.
Ethical approvals:
The project has been approved by the Regional Ethics Committee, Region South-East (project number 149597), and the Data Protection Officer at Oslo University Hospital.