Reston, VA—October 26, 2017 — Oncologists choose targeted therapy and immunotherapy for patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) less often than experts in lung cancer, according to results from a study by Clinical Care Options that were presented as an oral presentation by David R. Gandara, MD, of the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center, at the IASLC 18th World Conference on Lung Cancer in Yokohama, Japan, on October 15, 2017. This is despite clear evidence that both targeted therapy and immunotherapy approaches significantly improve outcomes for many patients with NSCLC.
An analysis of cases entered into an online lung cancer treatment support tool from June 2016 through February 2017 conducted by Clinical Care Options captured practice patterns of oncologists around the world. In the setting of newly diagnosed advanced NSCLC with specific driver mutations where targeted therapies are the standard of care, 54% of oncologists agreed with the consensus expert recommendations of targeted therapy. Among those oncologists who initially disagreed with the expert recommendations, 60% indicated that they would change their recommendation based on expert opinion.
In the second-line setting after chemotherapy where immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy has recently emerged as a prominent treatment option, 41% of oncologists agreed with the consensus expert recommendation to use immunotherapy in this setting. Among those oncologists who initially disagreed with expert recommendations for cases in this disease setting, 49% indicated that they would change their recommendation based on expert opinion.
“The treatment landscape for advanced NSCLC has been evolving rapidly over the last few years with the approvals of many new targeted therapies and immunotherapies,” said Dr. Gandara. “This is a wonderful development for patients and their doctors.”
“However, it also challenges the oncologists with the task of staying current with these advances to offer the best care to their patients with advanced NSCLC,” said Tina Stacy, PharmD, BCOP, CHCP, Senior Vice President Educational Strategy and General Manager, Oncology at CCO.
The goal now is to continue to update this online lung cancer tool as the treatment of advanced NSCLC evolves to provide a useful resource for healthcare providers and patients. The most recent version of this lung cancer tool can be found at http://www.clinicaloptions.com/lungtool.
About Clinical Care Options
Clinical Care Options, LLC, is a global leader in the development of innovative educational programs and technology platforms. CCO’s team has been a pioneer in the creation of continuing education and decision support resources for healthcare professionals both in the United States and around the world for more than 2 decades. For more information, visit clinicaloptions.com.
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