Waqar Haque1, Vivek Verma2, E Brian Butler3, Bin S Teh3. 1. Department of Radiation Oncology, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, U.S.A. waqarh786@gmail.com. 2. Department of Radiation Oncology, Allegheny General Hospital, Pittsburgh, PA, U.S.A. 3. Department of Radiation Oncology, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, U.S.A.
Abstract
BACKGROUND/AIM: Because aggressive oncological management just prior to death constitutes a substantial proportion of end-of-life (EOL) costs, we investigated patterns of EOL oncologic care for stage IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in USA to better determine at which point in the patient's management new treatments were being initiated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The National Cancer Database was queried for stage IV NSCLC patients who received any cancer-directed therapy with known timing thereof. RESULTS: A total of 281,990 stage IV NSCLC patients were analyzed. Of all patients, 10.8% commenced any first-course cancer therapy within four weeks of death, and 24.5% within eight weeks of death. CONCLUSION: 10-15% of stage IV NSCLC patients start cancer therapy within four weeks of death, and 25-30% within eight weeks. This represents a population for whom cancer therapy may not be required, which has implications on reducing EOL healthcare costs. Copyright
BACKGROUND/AIM: Because aggressive oncological management just prior to death constitutes a substantial proportion of end-of-life (EOL) costs, we investigated patterns of EOL oncologic care for stage IV non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in USA to better determine at which point in the patient's management new treatments were being initiated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The National Cancer Database was queried for stage IV NSCLCpatients who received any cancer-directed therapy with known timing thereof. RESULTS: A total of 281,990 stage IV NSCLCpatients were analyzed. Of all patients, 10.8% commenced any first-course cancer therapy within four weeks of death, and 24.5% within eight weeks of death. CONCLUSION: 10-15% of stage IV NSCLCpatients start cancer therapy within four weeks of death, and 25-30% within eight weeks. This represents a population for whom cancer therapy may not be required, which has implications on reducing EOL healthcare costs. Copyright
Authors: Jessica Y Islam; Veeral Saraiya; Rebecca A Previs; Tomi Akinyemiju Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2021-06-04 Impact factor: 3.390