Testicular cancer Quality Performance Indicators (QPIs)
Patients diagnosed from 1 October 2020 to 30 September 2023

About this release

This release by Public Health Scotland (PHS) summarises recent national performance in respect of a set of nationally agreed Quality Performance Indicators for the diagnosis and  treatment of testicular cancer. The aim of the indicators is to ensure that efforts to improve treatment are focussed on those aspects that are most important in terms of improving survival and individual care experience whilst reducing variation and supporting the most effective and efficient delivery of care for people with this type of cancer.  The indicators are developed and formally reviewed by Healthcare Improvement Scotland, PHS and the three regional cancer networks (NCA - North Cancer Alliance; SCAN - South East Scotland Cancer Network; and WoSCAN - West of Scotland Cancer Network). Data are gathered and recorded in a central database by specialised cancer audit teams working in NHS Boards within the regional networks.

This release summarises performance for these indicators for patients who were diagnosed with testicular cancer between October 2020 and September 2023.

Main points

The national performance statistics for each QPI can be found in the table below (also provided as a spreadsheet alongside this summary).

• There were 175 men diagnosed with testicular cancer between October 2022 and September 2023. This is a decrease from October 2021 to September 2022 with 183 men diagnosed but an increase from October 2020 to September 2021 with 161 diagnosed.
• At Scotland level, three out of the seven targets were met in October 2022 to September 2023.
• Although the targets were not met, there has been progress in the number of patients undergoing QPI 1 (radiological staging) and QPI 3 (primary orchidectomy).
• It is encouraging that targets for QPI 2 (pre-operative assessment), QPI 4 (MDT discussion) and QPI 12 (surveillance for stage I seminoma) were met, indicating effective provision of high-quality care and treatment for testicular cancer patients.
• These QPIs are kept under regular review and are responsive to changes in clinical practice and emerging evidence. The following recent changes should be noted.
  • QPI 9 (Imaging for surveillance patients) was no longer reported after October 2022 in order to incorporate a more robust surveillance QPI on MRI for stage I seminoma with a larger clinical cohort (see QPI 12).
  • QPI 10 (30-day mortality) was no longer reported after October 2022 as mortality from orchidectomy/radiotherapy is rare and therefore the QPI is now redundant.

Background

QPIs are in place for the treatment of a range of cancer types to support quality improvement in their treatment - see About the QPIs. Scottish territorial health boards are required to report on their performance against these indicators under the national cancer quality programme - see Scottish Government letter CEL 06 2012 setting out the details. Reporting in this current format was first undertaken in 2012. Performance for other cancers can be found in QPI reports.

Two of the networks released reports in respect of QPI performance in their region for this period: NCA and WoSCAN. In addition, those directly involved in service improvement can access more detailed information through the Cancer QPI Dashboard within SCRIS (Scottish Cancer Registry and Intelligence Service). Due to the level of detail, access is strictly controlled. New users may apply for authorisation (to access the data) via https://useraccess.nhsnss.scot.nhs.uk.

Further information

The QPI publications look at a three-year period, so the next release of this publication will be in December 2027.