Patient-friendly and now certified by the international Bureau Veritas organization. The San Giovanni Addolorata hospital in Rome has obtained the UNI EN ISO 9001: 2015 certification for its Diagnostic-Therapeutic-Assistance (PDTA) pathway dedicated to prostate cancer, as part of a project made possible thanks to the unconditional support of Astellas. Mission: rapid and effective care, wide and innovative offer of diagnostic, therapeutic and care opportunities according to the most recent international guidelines. The work that led to the certification of the Pdta of the prostate of San Giovanni Addolorata, a regional reference for oncology, began several years ago, exactly in 2008.
“We are proud – declares Tiziana Frittelli, General Manager of Ao San Giovanni Addolorata – of this prestigious international certification recognized to our Prostate Cancer Pdta, the result of an effective and integrated team work. We thank our professionals for this fundamental goal, which is not certainly a point of arrival but a constant and continuous tendency towards improving the quality of a service that is increasingly patient-friendly “. The process that led to the quality certification started “with an overall reorganization of the services for patients with prostate cancer – explains Gianluca D’Elia, Director of Urology Surgery Department – today the formalization of this path takes place which therefore takes on a figure and an added value that give prestige to the company “.
A stage, continues D’Elia, “also very important because the certification is international and the user who comes to us is sure to receive high quality services”. Prostate carcinomas are among the most common cancers in Lazio with about 3 thousand new cases a year and several thousand Lazio men living with these neoplasms. “In our company – reports D’Elia – we see at least 600 new cases of prostate cancer a year; about half of these receive surgical treatment, which makes use of the most advanced and minimally invasive robotic surgery with better results in the medium and long term. term. The ISO certification of the diagnostic-therapeutic pathway of prostate cancer also helps us to better face the criticality linked to the pandemic waves caused by Covid-19 “.
Prostate cancer is a very frequent “and sneaky cancer – observes D’Elia – which luckily we are able to diagnose more and more early. Various professionals are involved in the prostate cancer Pdta: urologists, oncologists, radiotherapists and important nursing professionals. The urologist is the central figure who takes care of the diagnostic and surgical part through choices that are always shared with the multidisciplinary team “. The path is centered on a multidisciplinary team that takes care of the patient, accompanies him and makes the passage from one phase of the disease to another less difficult.
“We are very satisfied with the goal achieved after the enormous efforts made to reorganize the treatment path of the patient with prostate cancer – underlines Mauro Minelli, director of medical oncology, Polo Oncologico Ao San Giovanni Addolorata – About 60 are currently being treated in our medical oncology. -70 patients with advanced disease, which requires different drug treatments Unfortunately, prostate cancer is often diagnosed when it is too late, hence the need for men to practice some good behaviors and actions for uro-genital health: first of all, a healthy diet, of quality and without excesses; the intake of plenty of fluids during the day; regular and continuous physical activity; the abolition of smoking, an important risk factor for prostate cancer “.
“In addition – adds Minelli – especially if there is familiarity, after 45-50 years even if urinary disorders do not occur, it is advisable to undergo a simple clinical visit to the urologist and, on the advice of the specialist, to carry out the PSA examination. All this at least once every two years depending on health conditions. Only in this way is it possible to intercept early stage prostate cancer, which today can be treated and cured “.
For male urogenital cancers, screening programs are lacking and have few adhesions, experts report. This is one of the reasons why the diagnosis and the treatments themselves sometimes present some difficulties, which can be faced with a multidisciplinary and multi-professional approach with the figure of the urologist and medical oncologist at the center. Pathologies such as prostate cancer require the involvement in the diagnosis and treatment of multiple specialist figures, including that of the radiotherapist, who in recent years has assumed an importance equal to that of the urologist and medical oncologist.
“All stages of prostate disease can benefit from radiotherapy – declares Ugo de Paula, former Director of Oncological Radiotherapy at San Giovanni Addolorata -. In the advanced stages, radiotherapy can be used in the treatment of metastases for symptomatic-palliative purposes. By some years we have activated the clinic for rapid palliative therapies, to give a quick response in case of particularly painful skeletal metastases. The radiotherapist interfaces and compares immediately after the diagnosis with other professional figures, in particular the urologist and the ‘oncologist, and then with the patient with whom he shares the ultimate choice of therapy, the expected results and its possible side effects “.
The certified PDTA model reflects a type of clinical governance based on specific formalized paths, on clinical-organizational protocols, shared between the various operating units involved, and on an adequate performance monitoring system. “Astellas has always given great importance to public-private partnership – concludes Enrico Belviso, Head of Market Access & Government Affairs of Astellas Pharma – with this we want to respond to the health demands of patients and citizens and, at the same time, to the needs of public health find resources to ensure the sustainability of the national and regional health system. The collaboration with the San Giovanni Addolorata Hospital of Rome for the certification of the Pdta of prostate cancer represents a concrete tool to make the management and treatment efficient and of quality of the patient also through a precise organization and sustainability of the path “.