Publications by authors named "Lisa W Le"

Context: Hematological malignancies represent a heterogeneous group of diseases with variable and often unpredictable illness trajectories. Comparisons between hematological and solid tumor malignancy referrals to an outpatient palliative care clinic have not been explored.

Objectives: This study compared characteristics, referral trends, and time from first palliative care clinic visit to death between patients with hematological and solid tumor malignancies.

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Background: Manual extraction of real-world clinical data for research can be time-consuming and prone to error. We assessed the feasibility of using natural language processing (NLP), an AI technique, to automate data extraction for patients with advanced lung cancer (aLC). We assessed the external validity of our NLP-extracted data by comparing our findings to those reported in the literature.

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In advanced non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), routine testing with next-generation sequencing (NGS) is recommended to identify actionable genomic alterations (AGAs). The therapeutic implications of repeated NGS testing on synchronous and metachronous tumors are unclear. Between February 2017 and October 2020, NSCLC samples from a single institution were reflex-tested using a targeted 15-gene NGS panel (TruSight Tumor 15, Illumina).

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Article Synopsis
  • - The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted cancer care delivery, particularly concerning where patients died and the availability of specialized palliative care (SPC).
  • - A study analyzed data from Ontario’s Cancer Registry to assess the association between the pandemic and home deaths or SPC delivery, focusing on socioeconomic disparities.
  • - Findings showed that while home deaths increased during the pandemic, this rise was less pronounced among the most deprived socioeconomic group, revealing potential disparities in end-of-life care access.
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Importance: Liquid biopsy has emerged as a complement to tumor tissue profiling for advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The optimal way to integrate liquid biopsy into the diagnostic algorithm for patients with newly diagnosed advanced NSCLC remains unclear.

Objective: To evaluate the use of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) genotyping before tissue diagnosis among patients with suspected advanced NSCLC and its association with time to treatment.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study looked at a new way to give early palliative care to adults with serious cancer, comparing it to regular symptom checks.
  • 69 patients were involved, and those in the palliative care group got more help than those with just regular care.
  • Early results showed that patients liked the new method and found it helpful for discussing their symptoms, which will help in planning future studies.
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Context: Although patients with nonmalignant diseases have palliative care needs similar to those of cancer patients, they are less likely to receive specialist palliative care (SPC). Referral practices of oncologists, cardiologists, and respirologists could provide insight into reasons for this difference.

Objectives: We compared referral practices to SPC among cardiologists, respirologists, and oncologists, discerned from surveys (the Canadian Palliative Cardiology/Respirology/Oncology Surveys).

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Background: Family physicians' (FPs) long-term relationships with their oncology patients position them ideally to provide primary palliative care, yet their involvement is variable. We examined perceptions of FP involvement among outpatients receiving palliative care at a cancer center and identified factors associated with this involvement.

Methods: Patients with advanced cancer attending an oncology palliative care clinic (OPCC) completed a 25-item survey.

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Objectives: Medical assistance in dying (MAiD) is legal in an increasing number of countries, but there are concerns that its availability may compromise access to palliative care. We assessed public interest in MAiD, palliative care, both, or neither, and examined characteristics associated with this interest.

Methods: We surveyed a representative sample of the adult Canadian public, accessed through a panel from May to June 2019.

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Introduction: Molecular profiling of tumor tissue is the gold standard for treatment decision-making in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Results may be delayed or unavailable due to insufficient tissue, prolonged wait times for biopsy, pathology assessment and testing. We piloted the use of plasma testing in the initial diagnostic workup for patients with suspected advanced lung cancer.

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Background: Liquid biopsy (LB) can detect actionable genomic alterations in plasma circulating tumor circulating tumor DNA beyond tissue testing (TT) alone in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. We estimated the cost-effectiveness of adding LB to TT in the Canadian healthcare system.

Methods: A cost-effectiveness analysis was conducted using a decision analytic Markov model from the Canadian public payer (Ontario) perspective and a 2-year time horizon in patients with treatment-naïve stage IV non-squamous NSCLC and ⩽10 pack-year smoking history.

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In advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), patients with actionable genomic alterations may derive additional clinical benefit from targeted treatment compared to cytotoxic chemotherapy. Current guidelines recommend extensive testing with next generation sequencing (NGS) panels. We investigated the impact of using a targeted NGS panel (TruSight Tumor 15, Illumina) as reflex testing for NSCLC samples at a single institution.

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Introduction: Real-world evidence is important in regulatory and funding decisions. Manual data extraction from electronic health records (EHRs) is time-consuming and challenging to maintain. Automated extraction using natural language processing (NLP) and artificial intelligence may facilitate this process.

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Article Synopsis
  • Early palliative care (EPC) enhances quality of life for patients with advanced cancer but may not be suitable for everyone, highlighting a need for better patient triage based on symptom severity.
  • A subgroup analysis of a randomized trial indicates that patients with high baseline symptoms benefitted from EPC in terms of quality of life, care satisfaction, and clinician-patient interactions, while those with lower symptoms saw no significant differences.
  • The findings suggest that symptom severity can effectively guide decisions for early referrals to palliative care.
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Introduction: In addition to the higher prevalence of mutations found among lung cancer cases in East Asian patients, it is unclear whether there are differences in treatment outcomes by ethnicity-that is, East Asian versus non-East Asian.

Methods: Patients diagnosed with EGFR-mutant lung cancer between January 2004 and October 2014 at a single center were reviewed. Data captured included demographics, tumor and treatment information, and survival.

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Objective: WHO recommends early integration of palliative care alongside usual care to improve quality of life, although misunderstanding of palliative care may impede this. We compared the public's perceived and actual knowledge of palliative care, and examined the relationship of this knowledge to attitudes concerning palliative care.

Methods: We analysed data from a survey of a representative sample of the Canadian public, accessed through a survey panel in May-June 2019.

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Background: Routine early palliative care (EPC) improves quality of life (QoL) for patients with advanced cancer, but it may not be necessary for all patients. We assessed the feasibility of Symptom screening with Targeted Early Palliative care (STEP) in a phase II trial.

Methods: Patients with advanced cancer were recruited from medical oncology clinics.

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Unlabelled: INTRODUCTION Advances in novel treatment options may render renal cell cancer (RCC) patients susceptible to the financial toxicity (FT) of cancer treatment, and the factors associated with FT are unknown.

Materials And Methods: Eligible patients were ≥ 18 years old and had a diagnosis of stage IV RCC for at least 3 months. Patients were recruited from Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and Sunnybrook Odette Cancer Centre (Toronto, Canada).

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Background: Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have excellent systemic activity and are standard first line treatment in EGFR/ALK wild type metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, their role in patients with brain metastases, which affects over 20% of patients and cause significant morbidity, is less clear.

Methods: We reviewed patients with EGFR/ALK wild-type mNSCLC with CNS metastases.

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Introduction: The efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) is low among EGFR-mutated non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), although prolonged responses have occasionally been reported. We investigated the association between mutation subtypes and ICI outcomes among HER2- and EGFR-mutated NSCLC.

Patients And Methods: This retrospective single-center study analyzed patients with EGFR- and HER2-mutated advanced NSCLC who received at least 1 cycle of ICI between 2013 and 2019.

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We report results of a phase-1 study evaluating the safety and anti-cancer activity of the small molecule insulin-like growth factor-1 receptor (IGF-1R) inhibitor, linsitinib combined with bortezomib, and dexamethasone in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma. Nineteen patients were enrolled across four dose-escalation cohorts (75-150 mg bid). The maximum tolerated dose of linsitinib was 125 mg.

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Background: Evidence from randomized controlled trials has demonstrated benefits in quality of life outcomes from early palliative care concurrent with standard oncology care in patients with advanced cancer. We hypothesized that there would be earlier referral to outpatient palliative care at a comprehensive cancer center following this evidence.

Materials And Methods: Administrative databases were reviewed for two cohorts of patients: the pre-evidence cohort was seen in outpatient palliative care between June and November 2006, and the post-evidence cohort was seen between June and November 2015.

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Background: To assess correlation of pretreatment specific growth rate (SGR) value of 0.43 × 10 with overall and failure-free survival of patients with early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treated with stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT).

Methods: A retrospective chart review of 160 patients with pathologically confirmed stage I NSCLC treated with SBRT between June 2010 and December 2012 in a large, tertiary cancer institute was undertaken.

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Background: Tobacco exposure contributes to over 80 % of lung cancer cases. Smoking is associated with programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) tumor expression and better outcomes from anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (anti-PD-1) therapy in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). PD-L1 tumor expression is now routinely used to predict benefit from anti-PD-1 therapy in patients with advanced NSCLC.

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