Required Evidence for Clinical Applications of Liquid Biopsy Using Especially CTCs in Lung Cancer

As therapies have become more and more dependent on tumor as well as patient characteristics, obtaining tumor material has become of great importance. Liquid biopsies hold much potential as shown by a large amount of evidence across several studies. Clinical applications for circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are unfortunately still lacking. In part this is due to a lack of studies comparing liquid biopsies to conventional diagnostics and response measurements as well as studies showing that liquid biopsies can be used to switch therapies leading to improved outcomes. However, liquid biopsies using ctDNA for specific markers such as EGFR, ALK, ROS1 or RET have clinical applications because specific drugs are available

Patterns of recurrence and survival after surgery or stereotactic radiotherapy for early stage NSCLC

IntroductionSurgery is the standard treatment for early stage non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). For medically inoperable patients, stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR) has emerged as widely used standard treatment. The aim of this study was to analyze survival and patterns of tumor recurrence in patients with clinical stage I NSCLC treated with surgery or SABR.MethodsClinical data from all subsequent fluoro-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography-based stage I NSCLC patients (cT1-T2aN0M0) treated with surgery or SABR at our center between 2007 and 2010 were collected. Primary endpoints were overall survival and tumor recurrences/new primary lung tumors. Treatment groups were compared using multivariable Cox regression and competing risk analyses.ResultsThree hundred-forty patients treated with surgery (n = 143) or SABR (n = 197) were included. Surgical patients were younger, had a better WHO performance status and less comorbidities. After adjustment for prognostic covariables, treatment did not influence overall survival (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], SABR versus surgery 1.07; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.74–1.54; p = 0.73). Local control and distant recurrence were equal, whereas locoregional recurrences were significantly more frequent after SABR compared with surgery (adjusted sub-HR 2.51; 95% CI: 1.10–5.70; p = 0.028). Nodal failure (HR: 2.16; 95% CI: 1.34–3.48) and distant metastases (HR: 2.12; 95% CI: 1.52–2.97), but not local failure (HR: 1.00; 95% CI: 0.53–1.89) predicted overall survival.ConclusionsIn patients with fluoro-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography-based stage I NSCLC, SABR confers worse locoregional tumor control because of more nodal failures compared with surgery, stressing the need to improve mediastinal and hilar staging

Evaluation of elastix-based propagated align algorithm for VOI- and voxel-based analysis of longitudinal F-18-FDG PET/CT data from patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC)

Background: Deformable image registration allows volume of interest (VOI)- and voxel-based analysis of longitudinal changes in fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) tumor uptake in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). This study evaluates the performance of the elastix toolbox deformable image registration algorithm for VOI and voxel-wise assessment of longitudinal variations in FDG tumor uptake in NSCLC patients. Methods: Evaluation of the elastix toolbox was performed using F-18-FDG PET/CT at baseline and after 2 cycles of therapy (follow-up) data in advanced NSCLC patients. The elastix toolbox, an integrated part of the IMALYTICS workstation, was used to apply a CT-based non-linear image registration of follow-up PET/CT data using the baseline PET/CT data as reference. Lesion statistics were compared to assess the impact on therapy response assessment. Next, CT-based deformable image registration was performed anew on the deformed follow-up PET/CT data using the original follow-up PET/CT data as reference, yielding a realigned follow-up PET dataset. Performance was evaluated by determining the correlation coefficient between original and realigned follow-up PET datasets. The intra-and extra-thoracic tumors were automatically delineated on the original PET using a 41% of maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) adaptive threshold. Equivalence between reference and realigned images was tested (determining 95% range of the difference) and estimating the percentage of voxel values that fell within that range. Results: Thirty-nine patients with 191 tumor lesions were included. In 37/39 and 12/39 patients, respectively, thoracic and non-thoracic lesions were evaluable for response assessment. Using the EORTC/SUVmax-based criteria, 5/37 patients had a discordant response of thoracic, and 2/12 a discordant response of non-thoracic lesions between the reference and the realigned image. FDG uptake values of corresponding tumor voxels in the original and realigned reference PET correlated well (R-2=0.98). Using equivalence testing, 94% of all the voxel values fell within the 95% range of the difference between original and realigned reference PET. Conclusions: The elastix toolbox impacts lesion statistics and therefore therapy response assessment in a clinically significant way. The elastix toolbox is therefore not applicable in its current form and/or standard settings for PET response evaluation. Further optimization and validation of this technique is necessary prior to clinical implementation

Temporal trends and spatial variation in stage distribution of non-small cell lung cancer in the Netherlands

Introduction To explore regional and temporal variation in clinical stage distribution of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and link the observations to the introduction of positron emission tomography (PET). Method All NSCLC patients diagnosed between 1989 and 2007 were selected from the Netherlands Cancer Registry (n=126,962). Maps of smoothed percentage distribution of clinical stage NSCLC were conducted by period of diagnosis. Join point regression analyses were performed to detect trends over time. Geographic variation in stage distribution was evaluated using spatial scan statistic. To evaluate the impact of PET in regions proportions of stage IV and Estimated Annual Percentage of Change (EAPC) were calculated for two regions in which PET was introduced between 1995 and 2000 and for two regions without a PET scanner during this period. Results The percentage of stage I and unknown decreased with 7.4% and 13.3% between 1989 and 2007, while the percentage of stage IV increased with 23.4%. The most rapid increase in stage I and IV were observed between 1997 and 2003. In two regions with a PET scan the proportion of stage IV increased annually with 10.3 and 8.5% compared to 5.4 and 6.4% in two regions without a PET scan. Conclusion The most rapid changes towards more stage IV NSCLC diagnoses correspond with the implementation of PET. However, trends were already visible before PET was introduced and regions without PET also showed considerable increases in stage IV diagnose, suggesting other factors or improvements in diagnostics also contributed substantially

A population-based study describing characteristics, survival and the effect of TKI treatment on patients with EGFR mutated stage IV NSCLC in the Netherlands

INTRODUCTION: Since 2011, treatment guidelines advise targeted therapy (tyrosine kinase inhibitor, TKI) for patients with activating epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations (EGFR+) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We describe characteristics, first line treatment and survival of patients diagnosed with EGFR+ NSCLC in a European population, focussing on age, gender and trends over time and compare to the whole group and EGFR-. METHODS: All patients with non-squamous NSCLC stage IV, diagnosed 2011-2018, were identified from the population-based Netherlands Cancer Registry (N = 31,291). RESULTS: Among all, 7.0% were registered to be EGFR+, with highest prevalence in females 65 years to 23.6 months in the EGFR+ group <50 years treated with TKI. Over time, OS for the whole group increased by 0.6 months, of which 33% due to TKI treatment in EGFR+. The increase was strongest in females <50 years, where median OS almost doubled to 12.4 months. In the EGFR+, multivariable hazard of death was most strongly associated with the use of TKI (HR 0.45(0.41-0.49)). Of the patients with EGFR+ this space need or not, 71% received TKI treatment. Being young reduced the hazard of death (HR 0.71(95%CI:0.59-0.85)) irrespective of treatment, while male gender increased the hazard of death (HR 1.22(95%CI:1.11-1.33)). CONCLUSION: At population level, TKI treatment in patients with non-squamous NSCLC stage IV EGFR+ has very strong beneficial effects on outcome. Of the improvement in OS that was made over the years for the whole group, about one third seems to be attributed to TKI treatment in EGFR+ patients

Cost-effectiveness analysis of the first-line EGFR-TKIs in patients with non-small cell lung cancer harbouring EGFR mutations

Objectives: To compare the cost-effectiveness of first-line gefitinib, erlotinib, afatinib, and osimertinib in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harbouring epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations. Methods: A systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA) were conducted to compare the relative efficacy of gefitinib, erlotinib, afatinib, and osimertinib in EGFR-mutated NSCLC. To assess the cost-effectiveness of these treatments, a Markov model was developed from Dutch societal perspective. The model was based on the clinical studies included in the NMA. Incremental costs per life-year (LY) and per quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) gained were estimated. Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses (PSA) were conducted. Results: Total discounted per patient costs for gefitinib, erlotinib, afatinib, and osimertinib were €65,889, €64,035, €69,418, and €131,997, and mean QALYs were 1.36, 1.39, 1.52, and 2.01 per patient, respectively. Erlotinib dominated gefitinib. Afatinib versus erlotinib yielded incremental costs of €27,058/LY and €41,504/QALY gained. Osimertinib resulted in €91,726/LY and €128,343/QALY gained compared to afatinib. PSA showed that gefitinib, erlotinib, afatinib, and osimertinib had 13%, 19%, 43%, and 26% probability to be cost-effective at a threshold of €80,000/QALY. A price reduction of osimertinib of 30% is required for osimertinib to be cost-effective at a threshold of €80,000/QALY. Conclusions: Osimertinib has a better effectiveness compared to all other TKIs. However, at a Dutch threshold of €80,000/QALY, osimertinib appears not to be cost-effective

Nationwide Real-world Cohort Study of First-line Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Treatment in Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor-mutated Non-small-cell Lung Cancer

Most trials regarding tyrosine kinase inhibitors in patients with advanced epidermal growth factor receptor-mutated non-small-cell lung cancer comprised selected series from Asian populations. We found that Western European patients with epidermal growth factor receptor-mutated non-small-cell lung cancer who received first-line treatment with regular tyrosine kinase inhibitors have a median overall survival of 20.2 months in our large nationwide real-world cohort. In patients with brain metastasis, erlotinib showed superior results compared with gefitinib and was similar to afatinib. Background: Only a few randomized trials directly compared the relative efficacy of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in patients with advanced epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutated non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and most trials comprised selected series from Asian populations. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the overall survival (OS) of advanced EGFR-mutated NSCLC in a large white population and to evaluate variation between different TKIs and identify predictors of survival. Patients and Methods: Information about clinical characteristics, treatment, and survival for 873 patients with stage IV EGFR + NSCLC, diagnosed from 2015 through 2017, was derived from the Netherlands Cancer Registry. OS was evaluated by actuarial analysis and multivariable Cox regression. Prognostic factors are reported as hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals. Results: A total of 596 (68%) patients received first-line treatment with regular TKIs, providing a median survival of 20.2 months. Forty-five percent of patients were 70 years and older, and 54% of patients had distant metastasis in multiple organs. In the multivariate analysis, survival was significantly worse for men, and patients with higher age, poorer performance, and >= 3 organs with metastasis. Compared with erlotinib, OS was worse for gefitinib users (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.30; 95% confidence interval, 1.02-1.64), predominantly in patients with brain metastasis. Conclusion: Dutch patients with EGFR-mutated NSCLC who received first-line treatment with regular TKIs have a median OS of 20.2 months in a nationwide real-world cohort. In patients with brain metastasis, erlotinib showed superior results compared with gefitinib and was similar to afatinib. (C) 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Supplementary data for a model-based health economic evaluation on lung cancer screening with low-dose computed tomography in a high-risk population

This supplementary data is supportive to the research article entitled ‘Cost-effectiveness of lung cancer screening with low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) in heavy smokers: A micro-simulation modelling study’ (Yihui Du et al. 2020). This supplementary contains a description of the model input and the related model output data that were not included in the research article. The input data used for the tumour growth model and the self-detected tumour size model are provided. The output data of this article include the data used for cost-effectiveness analysis of lung cancer LDCT screening with the Dutch and international discount rates, the data of the sensitivity analysis, and the data of the model validation

Listen to their answers! Response behaviour in the measurement of physical and role functioning

Background: Quality of life (QoL) is considered to be an indispensable outcome measure of curative and palliative treatment. However, QoL research often yields findings that raise questions about what QoL measurement instruments actually assess and how the scores should be interpreted. Objective: To investigate how patients interpret and respond to questions on the EORTC-QLQ-C30 over time and to find explanations to account for counterintuitive findings in QoL measurement. Methods: Qualitative investigation was made of the response behaviour of small-cell lung cancer patients (n = 23) in the measurement of QoL with the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Core Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30). Focus was on physical functioning (PF, items 1 to 5), role functioning (RF, items 6 and 7), global health and QoL rating (GH/QOL, items 29 and 30). Interviews were held at four points: at the start of the chemotherapy, 4 weeks later, at the end, and 6 weeks after the end of chemotherapy. Patients were asked to 'think aloud' when filling in the questionnaire. Results: Patients used various response strategies when answering questions about problems and limitations in functioning, which impacted the accuracy of the scale. Patients had scores suggesting they were less limited than they actually were by taking the wording of questions literally, by guessing their functioning in activities that they did not perform, and by ignoring or excluding certain activities that they could not perform. Conclusion: Terminally ill patients evaluate their functioning in terms of what they perceive to be normal under the circumstances. Their answers can be interpreted in terms of change in the appraisal process (Rapkin and Schwartz 2004; Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 2, 14). More care should be taken in assessing the quality of a set of questions about physical and role functioning. © 2008 The Author(s)

Small-cell lung cancer patients are just ‘a little bit’ tired: response shift and self-presentation in the measurement of fatigue

Background: Response shift has gained increasing attention in the measurement of health-related quality of life (QoL) as it may explain counter-intuitive findings as a result of adaptation to deteriorating health. Objective: To search for response shift type explanations to account for counter-intuitive findings in QoL measurement. Methods: Qualitative investigation of the response behaviour of small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) patients (n = 23) in the measurement of fatigue with The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Core Quality of Life Questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) question 'were you tired'. Interviews were conducted at four points during 1st line chemotherapy: at the start of chemotherapy, 4 weeks later, at the end of chemotherapy, and 6 weeks later. Patients were asked to 'think aloud' when filling in the questionnaire. Results: Fifteen patients showed discrepancies between their answer to the EORTC question 'were you tired' and their level of fatigue spontaneously reported during the interview. These patients chose the response options 'not at all' or 'a little' and explained their answers in various ways. In patients with and without discrepancies, we found indications of recalibration response shift (e.g. using a different comparison standard over time) and of change in perspective (e.g. change towards a more optimistic perspective). Patients in the discrepancy group reported spontaneously how they dealt with diagnosis and treatment, i.e. by adopting protective and assertive behaviour and by fighting the stigma. They distanced themselves from the image of the stereotypical cancer patient and presented themselves as not suffering and accepting fatigue as consequence of treatment. Conclusion: In addition to response shift, this study suggests that 'self-presentation' might be an important mechanism affecting QoL measurement, particularly during phases when a new equilibrium needs to be found