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N. Peylan-Ramu



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    O02 - NSCLC - Combined Modality Therapy I (ID 111)

    • Event: WCLC 2013
    • Type: Oral Abstract Session
    • Track: Combined Modality
    • Presentations: 1
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      O02.01 - Geographic differences in the combined-modality treatment of stage III unresectable non-small cell lung cancer: Results from a global phase III trial of tecemotide (L-BLP25) (ID 2712)

      10:30 - 12:00  |  Author(s): N. Peylan-Ramu

      • Abstract
      • Presentation
      • Slides

      Background
      Chemo-radiotherapy (chemo/RT) is the standard of care for patients with unresectable stage III non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), but little is known about differences in clinical practice between regions of the world. The START trial is a global phase III trial of the MUC1-specific cancer immunotherapy tecemotide (L-BLP25), for which key efficacy and safety results have been reported previously. Here we report regional differences in diagnostic procedures and treatment of stage III NSCLC prior to enrolment in START.

      Methods
      The START trial recruited patients (performance status 0/1) with unresectable stage III NSCLC who had not progressed within 28–84 days of completing ≥2 cycles of platinum-based chemotherapy with concurrent or sequential radiotherapy (≥50 Gy). Baseline characteristics, diagnostic procedures and the initial chemo/RT administered of those recruited were compared between centers in different regions.

      Results
      From Jan 2007 to Nov 2011, 1513 patients were recruited at >250 centers in 33 countries: Western Europe 40.3%, Eastern Europe 26.0%, North America 21.8%, Latin America 5.7%, Asia 3.4%, Australia 2.8%. The majority of patients (92.1%) were Caucasian and median age was 61 years. Overall, 6.3% of patients were never-smokers with little inter-regional variation except for Asia (31.4%). The proportion of current smokers upon entry into the trial was highest in Eastern Europe (36.3%) and lowest in Australia (11.6%). Median tobacco consumption by region ranged from 36.2 (Eastern Europe) to 53.6 (Latin America) pack-years. The proportion of patients considered for the START trial who received concurrent rather than sequential chemo/RT varied widely between regions and was highest in North America and Australia, lower in Western Europe, Latin America and Asia, and lowest in Eastern Europe. There were also substantial variations in the diagnostic procedures between the regions, although pathological confirmation of N-status was infrequent in all regions. Detailed results by region for the time from diagnosis to randomization, duration of chemo- and radiotherapy, and chemotherapy agents used will be presented.

      Proportion of patients (%) with:
      Use of concurrent chemo/RT N-status determined with PET or PET/CT N-status determined with mediastinoscopy
      Australia (n=43) 100 74.4 2.3
      North America (n=330) 92.7 37.9 18.5
      Asia (n=51) 66.7 21.5 2.0
      Latin America (n=86) 65.1 7.0 5.8
      Western Europe (n=609) 67.2 32.2 6.9
      Eastern Europe (n=394) 28.9 7.3 3.6

      Conclusion
      Baseline data from the START trial suggest substantial variations in the management of unresectable stage III NSCLC between different regions of the world. While recruited patients from North American and Australian centers mostly received concurrent chemo/RT in accordance with current recommendations, a substantial proportion of patients in Europe, Latin America and Asia received sequential chemo/RT. More frequent use of concurrent chemo/RT as the recommended standard of care should be made across geographic regions.

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