Background
The group is an Advisory Committee charged with the responsibility of providing leadership and strategic direction for management and further development of the SA Prostate Cancer Outcomes Collaborative. The principal interest of the collaboration is the Prostate Cancer Outcomes Database.
 
The SA Prostate Cancer Clinical Outcomes Collaborative, established in 1998 and managed by a team at the Repatriation General Hospital (RGH), is an ongoing collaborative venture of RGH, Royal Adelaide (RAH) and Queen Elizabeth (QEH) hospitals. We have, with the cooperation of the treating urologist, initiated private patient consent and data collection from private providers.  This process has been approved by the Repatriation General Hospital Research Ethics committee (now merged with Flinders Medical Centre Research Ethics Committee).
 
With increased size since inception, the database has become a valuable tool.  We have addressed questions relating to cancer control, service quality, clinical profile at presentation, outcomes by socio-economic status and geographic location, primary care and referral practices, treatment preferences and prevalence of late stage presentation compared with overseas series and complications of treatment. The data is a valuable resource for urological trainees fulfilling a requirement for a research presentation. Findings are presented at local, national and where possible, international Urological conferences. We produce an annual report of activities and findings which is available to sponsors.
 
Purpose
To provide strategic direction for SA-PCCOC including funding, ethical oversight, collaborations and staffing.
 
Membership
Membership to include as minimum: one clinician from each major teaching hospital (Royal Adelaide Hospital, Repatriation General Hospital/Flinders Medical Centre, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital), one radiation oncologist, one medical oncologist, one researcher, one consumer representative and ex officio members: Data Manager, Clinical Data Coordinator, Research Committee Chair and Executive Officer:

• Prof Kim Moretti (Chair)
• Dr Kym Horsell (Deputy Chair)
• Dr Michael O’Callaghan (Executive Officer)
• Dr Braden Higgs
• Dr Kerri Beckmann
• Dr Ganessan Kichenadasse
• Tina Kopsaftis
• David Merry (Consumer Representative)
• Dr Sophie Otto
• Assoc Prof Ken Pittman
• Scott Walsh

 
Commitments

Members are to attend a minimum of 50% of meetings each year with status reviewed on the first committee meeting of each calendar year.  Meetings are typically scheduled for every other month and attendance may be in person, proxy or by video/phone.
 
Clinical contributor group

Clinicians contributing patients to the database are eligible to attend steering committee meetings.  Clinicians must advise SA-PCCOC if they wish to attend and receive communications. The chair will prepare a précis of steering committee minutes, which excludes reference to confidential information for circulation to the clinical contributor group.
 
Communications

All steering committee communications will be circulated to steering committee members and the clinical contributor group. Sensitive information (e.g. outlier identification) will be communicated to the steering committee only.

Purpose

To provide a forum for reviewing and discussing research studies that use data held within the SA-PCCOC database.  Review will include statistical advice, data availability, publication planning, ethics requirements, funding options and student supervision.
 
Membership

Membership to include as minimum: one urologist, one radiation oncologist, one medical oncologist, one researcher and ex officio members: Data Manager, Clinical Data Coordinator and Executive Officer. There shall be a Chairperson and deputy Chairperson of the Committee who will be appointed by the Committee.

• Dr Kerri Beckmann (Chair)
• Dr Alex Jay (Deputy Chair)
• Dr Rick Catterwell
• Dr Kirsten Gormly
• Dr Ganessan Kichenadasse
• Tina Kopsaftis
• Dr John Leung
• Dr David Moffatt
• Prof Kim Moretti
• Dr Michael O’Callaghan
• Kerry Santoro
• Scott Walsh

Commitments

Members are to attend a minimum of 50% of meetings each year with status reviewed on the first committee meeting of each calendar year. Meetings are typically scheduled for every other month.
 
Collaborating Researchers

Collaborating researchers wishing to use the database are eligible to attend research committee meetings.  Researchers must advise SA-PCCOC if they wish to attend and receive communications.
 
Communications

All research committee communications will be circulated to research committee members and collaborating researchers.  Communications will also be circulated to the steering committee. Documentation and information regarding the activities of the Committee or any subcommittee(s) and notifications of meetings are distributed by email.
 
Tenure and Method of Appointment
The members of the Committee shall be confirmed on an annual basis. The maximum term of office for all committee members is currently not set. The Chair and deputy chair of the committee shall be elected by a majority of the committee.
 
All nominations for appointment to the Committee and all appointments to the Committee are to be made in writing or minuted at a committee meeting.
 
The Terms of Reference of a subcommittee are to be recorded in the minutes of the Committee.
 
Committee members may in writing, agree to disband the Committee if the SA-PCCOC for whatever reason is to be discontinued.
 
Meetings

Meetings will be held every other month or as designated by the committee. Absent members may participate by providing input via email.
 
The Project Officer(s) will serve the Committee, with respect to the following duties: serving as the minutes secretary to the Committee; managing paperwork associated with the membership of and operations of the Committee; and maintaining appropriate records of the work of the Committee.
 
Quorum

A quorum shall consist of at least five (5) committee members or their proxy. If a quorum is not met within 30 minutes after the designated start time of the meeting, that meeting shall be deferred by one week or such other period as determined by the Chairman. A quorum must be maintained at all times for the purposes of voting.
 
Decisions of the Committee shall be determined by a majority vote of those present (including by tele/video conference).  In the event of an equality of votes upon a proposition put to the Committee, the Chair shall have the casting vote.
 
A member who has a conflict of interest in relation to a matter being considered or due to be considered by the Committee shall be excluded from the quorum and must absent himself or herself from the deliberations and take no further part in any decision of the Committee in relation to that matter.
 
Co-opted members appointed by the Committee are excluded for the purposes of voting on decisions of the Committee.
 
Accountability

The Committee works within the ethical and privacy standards set by the Ethics committees nominated below and the code of conduct established for the South Australian Public Sector.

A person who acquires any information solely as a result of that person’s membership of the Committee must not make a record of, or divulge or communicate that information to any person, except:

• • for the purpose of performing the functions of the Committee; and
  • in accordance with standards set by the Human Research Ethics committees of the Southern Adelaide Clinical jurisdiction, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Royal Adelaide Hospital.

Procedures

We have ethics approval currently for the following users of the data:

Definition of user: researchers or collaborators who have completed a project Expression of Interest and signed a data use agreement form.

Definition of clinical user: a medical officer who currently has a direct or indirect responsibility of care for a patient who has been managed for prostate cancer in a South Australian hospital and who is included in the database.
 
An annual report covering the growth in the database, activities including analyses, presentations and publications will be produced. It is available to all contributors, ethical oversight committees and sponsors.

SA-PCCOC Meeting Dates 2019