Bladder cancer in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in Australia: a scoping review protocol

Bladder cancer is the third most common urological malignancy affecting Australians, with key modifiable risk factors. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people suffer from a higher prevalence of cancer-modifiable risk factors, are diagnosed with bladder cancer at a younger age, and have poorer survival rates compared with the general population. A comprehensive overview of the state of current knowledge on bladder cancer in this population is required.

A search of MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE and Web of Science databases, along with appropriate grey literature sources will be conducted between the 1 April 2022 and 30 April 2022. The reference lists of all included studies will be reviewed for additional appropriate sources. The national bladder cancer dataset compiled by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare will also be included as a source. All relevant sources meeting inclusion criteria, published in English, from inception onwards will be included. Dual independent screening of titles and abstracts prior to full-text review will be undertaken for all identified results during the initial searches. Preliminary findings will be reviewed with stakeholders, to seek culturally appropriate feedback on the implications of the results. Results will be reported in tabular form, accompanied by a narrative synthesis with comparisons to the wider bladder cancer population.

Ethics review will not be required, as only publicly available data will be analysed. Findings from the scoping review will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and presented at scientific meetings to stakeholders.