From diagnosis of colorectal cancer to diagnosis of Lynch syndrome: The RM Partners quality improvement project.

AIM

The UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline DG27 recommends universal testing for Lynch syndrome (LS) in all newly diagnosed colorectal cancer (CRC) patients. However, DG27 guideline implementation varies significantly by geography. This quality improvement project (QIP) was developed to measure variation and deliver an effective diagnostic pathway from diagnosis of CRC to diagnosis of LS within the RM Partners (RMP) West London cancer alliance.

METHOD

RM Partners includes a population of 4 million people and incorporates nine CRC multidisciplinary teams (MDTs), overseen by a Pathway Group, and three regional genetic services, managing approximately 1500 new CRC cases annually. A responsible LS champion was nominated within each MDT. A regional project manager and nurse practitioner were appointed to support the LS champions, to develop online training packages and patient consultation workshops. MDTs were supported to develop an 'in-house' mainstreaming service to offer genetic testing in their routine oncology clinics. Baseline data were collected through completion of the LS pathway audit of the testing pathway in 30 consecutive CRC patients from each CRC MDT, with measurement of each step of the testing pathway. Areas for improvement in each MDT were identified, delivered by the local champion and supported by the project team.

RESULTS

Overall, QIP measurables improved following the intervention. The Wilcoxon signed rank test revealed significant differences with strong effect sizes on the percentile of CRC cases undergoing mismatch repair (MMR) testing in endoscopic biopsies (p = 0.008), further testing with either methylation or BRAF V600E (p = 0/03) and in effective referral for genetic testing (from 10% to 74%; p = 0.02). During the QIP new mainstreaming services were developed, alongside the implementation of systematic and robust testing pathways. These pathways were tailored to the needs of each CRC team to ensure that patients with a diagnosis of CRC had access to testing for LS. Online training packages were produced which remain freely accessible for CRC teams across the UK.

CONCLUSION

The LS project was completed by April 2022. We have implemented a systematic approach with workforce transformation to facilitate identification and 'mainstreamed' genetic diagnosis of LS. This work has contributed to the development of a National LS Transformation Project in England which recommends local leadership within cancer teams to ensure delivery of diagnosis of LS and integration of genomics into clinical practice.