Real-World Treatment Patterns Among Patients Initiating Small Molecule Kinase Inhibitor Therapies for Thyroid Cancer in the United States.

Introduction: Little is known about real-world use of small molecule kinase inhibitors (SMKI) for advanced thyroid cancer in the United States. This study examined prescribing patterns of SMKI agents recommended by the National Comprehensive Cancer Center (NCCN).

Methods: This retrospective study used a national health insurance database to identify patients diagnosed with thyroid cancer during 1/1/2006-6/30/2016 and with prescription claims for NCCN-recommended SMKI during 1/1/2010-5/31/2016 whose first claim date was the index date.

Persistence and compliance among U.S. patients receiving pazopanib or sunitinib as first-line therapy for advanced renal cell carcinoma: a retrospective claims analysis.

Background: For first-line therapy options for advanced renal cell carcinoma (RCC), clinical trials have demonstrated similar efficacy for pazopanib and sunitinib as well as differing side-effect profiles, which may affect patient persistence in self-administration of these oral medications. However, the treatment patterns of each drug in real-world clinical practice, as opposed to the controlled environment of a trial, have not been directly compared.

Objective: To compare persistence and compliance (adherence) with pazopanib versus sunitinib in a real-world setting.

Treatment and outcomes of gastric cancer among United States-born and foreign-born Asians and Pacific Islanders.

Background: The authors investigated whether stage at diagnosis, cancer treatments, and survival of Asian and Pacific Islander (API) gastric cancer patients in the United States vary by birthplace.

Methods: The authors studied 6454 API and 10,099 non-Hispanic white (NHW) patients diagnosed with gastric cancer from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program between 1992 and 2005. In descriptive analyses, stage, receipt of adequate lymph node examination (ALNE), and surgery were compared among US-born APIs, foreign-born (FB) APIs, and NHWs.

Clinical guidelines versus universal molecular testing: are we ready to choose an optimal strategy for Lynch syndrome identification?

Lynch syndrome, also known as hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC), is the most common form of inherited colorectal cancer (CRC). Affected individuals need to undergo intensive CRC surveillance, screening for associated cancers, and possibly prophylactic surgery. Clinically-based guidelines have been used as the basis for Lynch syndrome screening in CRC patient populations.