Real-world overall survival after alternative dosing for pembrolizumab in the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer: A nationwide retrospective cohort study with a non-inferiority primary objective.

Background: High and increasing expenses on pembrolizumab ask for more cost-effective and sustainable treatment strategies to improve affordability of healthcare. Therefore, a part of the Dutch hospitals implemented an alternative, partially lower, weight-based dosing protocol for pembrolizumab. This provided the unique opportunity to compare the overall survival (OS) of the alternative pembrolizumab dosing protocol to standard dosing using a nationwide registry in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients.

A text-mining approach to study the real-world effectiveness and potentially fatal immune-related adverse events of PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors in older patients with stage III/IV non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: This study was designed to investigate the impact of age on the effectiveness and immune-related adverse events (irAEs) of programmed death-(ligand)1 [PD-(L)1] inhibitors in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) using a novel text-mining technique.

Methods: This retrospective study included patients with stage III/IV NSCLC treated with a PD-(L)1 inhibitor (nivolumab, pembrolizumab, atezolizumab and durvalumab) at Leiden University Medical Centre and Haga Teaching hospital, (both in The Netherlands) from September 2016 to May 2021. All the relevant data was extracted from the structured and unstructured fields of the Electronic Health Records using a novel text-mining tool.

Real-life safety of PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors in older patients with cancer: An observational study.

Introduction: To compare the real-world safety profile of programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) and programmed cell death ligand-1 (PD-L1) inhibitors between younger and older patients.

Materials And Methods: All patients receiving pembrolizumab, nivolumab, atezolizumab or durvalumab between September 2016 and September 2019 at Haga Teaching Hospital, The Hague, The Netherlands were included in this retrospective study. Immune-related adverse drug reactions (irADRs) were manually retrieved from the electronic patient files.

Randomized phase III study of docetaxel versus docetaxel plus intercalated erlotinib in patients with relapsed non-squamous non-small cell lung carcinoma.

Background: Earlier preclinical and phase II research showed enhanced effect of docetaxel plus intercalated erlotinib. The NVALT-18 phase III study was designed to compare docetaxel with docetaxel plus intercalated erlotinib in relapsed metastasized non-squamous (NSQ) non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Methods: Patients with relapsed Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) wild type (WT) NSQ-NSCLC were randomized 1:1 to docetaxel 75 mg/m intravenously on day 1 every 21 days (control), or docetaxel 75 mg/m intravenously on day 1 plus erlotinib 150 mg/day orally on day 2-16 every 21 days (experimental arm).

Distress in suspected lung cancer patients following rapid and standard diagnostic programs: a prospective observational study.

Objective: Timeliness may influence emotional distress during the diagnostic phase of suspected lung cancer patients. We performed a prospective observational study to compare distress and quality of life (QoL) in two medical centres with a Rapid Outpatient Diagnostic Program (RODP) and two using conventional Stepwise Diagnostic Approach (SDA) on the basis of trained nurse-led care.

Methods: Outpatients with radiological suspicion of lung cancer completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer 30-item Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ-C30) and its 13-item Lung Cancer specific module (QLQ-LC13) upon first visit, 2 days later, thereafter weekly for 5 weeks and after 3 months.

High performance of F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography and contrast-enhanced CT in a rapid outpatient diagnostic program for patients with suspected lung cancer.

Background: The diagnostic evaluation of patients presenting with possible lung cancer is often complex and time consuming. A rapid outpatient diagnostic program (RODP) including (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) and contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) as a routine diagnostic tool may improve timeliness, however the diagnostic performance of such a combined approach of RODP remains unclear.

Objectives: We evaluated timeliness of care and diagnostic performance of FDG-PET and contrast-enhanced CT (FDG-PET/CT) in an RODP for all patients referred with a chest X-ray suspicious of lung cancer.

The faster the better?—A systematic review on distress in the diagnostic phase of suspected cancer, and the influence of rapid diagnostic pathways.

Objective: To perform a systematic review of articles published in the last 25 years on prevalence and course of distress and quality of life surrounding the diagnostic process of suspected cancer, and the influence of rapid diagnostic programs.

Methods: Twenty-three articles were identified via Pubmed, PsycINFO, and reference lists of articles. Except for three randomized clinical trials and one case control study all studies were uncontrolled cohort studies.

Timeliness of lung cancer diagnosis and treatment in a rapid outpatient diagnostic program with combined 18FDG-PET and contrast enhanced CT scanning.

Introduction: Delays in the diagnosis of lung cancer are under debate and may affect outcome. The objectives of this study were to compare various delays in a rapid outpatient diagnostic program (RODP) for suspected lung cancer patients with those described in literature and with guideline recommendations, to investigate the effects of referral route and symptoms on delays, and to establish whether delays were related to disease stage and outcome.

Methods: A retrospective chart study was conducted of all patients with suspected lung cancer, referred to the RODP of our tertiary care university clinic between 1999 and 2009.