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A.K. Ganti



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    MINI 04 - Clinical Care of Lung Cancer (ID 102)

    • Event: WCLC 2015
    • Type: Mini Oral
    • Track: Treatment of Advanced Diseases - NSCLC
    • Presentations: 1
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      MINI04.03 - Real-World Patterns of Access to Cancer Specialist Care Among Patients With Lung Cancer in the United States: A Claims Database Analysis (ID 1592)

      16:45 - 18:15  |  Author(s): A.K. Ganti

      • Abstract
      • Presentation
      • Slides

      Background:
      Timely access to specialist care is an important first step in the care of patients with lung cancer (LC). This study describes real-world patterns of access to cancer specialist (CS) care in all LC patients and those with metastatic LC (mLC).

      Methods:
      Adult patients diagnosed with primary LC or mLC were identified in a US commercial claims database (01/01/2008 - 03/31/2014). Patients’ specialist visits were assessed before and after their first biopsy (index date). All patients had ≥3 months follow-up after index date. CS was defined as oncologists or hematologists. Patients were divided in four mutually exclusive groups based on the specialists seen in the 6 weeks pre-index period: patients seen by CS (± other specialists), pulmonologists (no CS, ± other specialists), internists or family physicians (no CS/pulmonologist, ± other specialists), and other. CS visits in the 8-weeks post-index were assessed for each group. Reversed Kaplan-Meier plots were used to describe time from index date to first CS visit.

      Results:
      The analysis included 75,163 LC and 25,191 mLC patients, with a median age of 67 [interquartile range (IQR): 59-76)] and 63 (IQR: 57-73) years and a median follow-up of 11 and 9 months, respectively. In the 8-week post-index period, over half of LC patients (54%) and nearly two-thirds of mLC patients (66%) had their first CS visit (Figure 1), while 38% of LC patients and 28% of mLC patients never saw a CS within 1-year of biopsy (Figure 1). In both samples, patients in the CS and pulmonologist pre-index groups were more likely to see a CS in follow-up (Figure 2; p<0.001 for all groups). Figure 1 Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 2





      Conclusion:
      A substantial proportion of patients diagnosed with LC and mLC did not see any CS after biopsy, which may negatively affect access to optimal and timely treatment.

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    MINI 10 - ALK and EGFR (ID 105)

    • Event: WCLC 2015
    • Type: Mini Oral
    • Track: Biology, Pathology, and Molecular Testing
    • Presentations: 1
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      MINI10.14 - Brain Metastasis at Diagnosis and EGFR Mutational Status in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (ID 431)

      16:45 - 18:15  |  Author(s): A.K. Ganti

      • Abstract
      • Presentation
      • Slides

      Background:
      Prior studies have indicated higher epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation rate in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients (pts) with brain metastases; however, these studies did not adjust for the effects of potential confounding variables.

      Methods:
      This was a retrospective study of NSCLC pts diagnosed between 2007-2014 at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, USA and Tata Memorial Hospital, India. After excluding 87 pts due to missing data, a total of 1522 pts were included. Univariate analysis (Chi-square or Fisher’s exact tests) and multivariate logistic regression were used to determine any association between EGFR status and clinical factors.

      Results:
      EGFR mutations were more common in females than males (38% vs. 24%, p<.0001), Asians than Caucasians (31% vs. 13%, p<.0001), non-smokers than smokers (40% vs. 14%, p<.0001), alcohol non-consumers than consumers (32% vs. 15%, p<.0001), adenocarcinoma than other histologies (32% vs. 10%, p<.0001) and in pts with brain metastasis than extracranial metastases or no metastasis (39% vs. 29% vs. 15%, p<.0001). The type of EGFR mutation (exon 19 vs. 21) did not correlate with the presence of brain metastasis. Multivariate analysis demonstrated a higher likelihood of an EGFR mutation among Asians vs. Whites/other ethnic groups (odds ratio, OR 2.1, p=0.015), non-smokers vs. smokers (OR 2.8, p<0.0001), alcohol non-consumers vs. consumers (OR 1.6, p=0.022) and adenocarcinoma vs. other histologies (OR 3.1, p<0.0001). Pts with brain metastasis were 1.9 times more likely to have an EFGR mutation than pts with extracranial metastasis (p=0.0002). Pts with brain metastasis were 1.8 times more likely to have an EFGR mutation (p=0.0002) compared to those without. The distribution of EGFR mutations was similar between pts with brain metastasis vs. non-metastatic disease (p=0.86) and pts with extracranial metastasis vs. non-metastatic disease (p=0.44).

      Conclusion:
      Our study is the largest study to demonstrate almost two-fold higher likelihood of an EFGR mutation among newly diagnosed NSCLC pts with brain metastases vs. those without. Studies of prophylactic cranial irradiation in pts with earlier stages of EGFR mutation positive NSCLC may be warranted.

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    ORAL 30 - Community Practice (ID 141)

    • Event: WCLC 2015
    • Type: Oral Session
    • Track: Community Practice
    • Presentations: 1
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      ORAL30.03 - Access to Cancer Directed Therapies and Cancer Specialists in Patients with Metastatic Lung Cancer (ID 2899)

      16:45 - 18:15  |  Author(s): A.K. Ganti

      • Abstract
      • Presentation
      • Slides

      Background:
      Access to cancer specialists and directed therapies is critical in the management of patients with metastatic lung cancer (mLC). This study aims to assess treatment patterns overall and stratified based on whether patients were seen or not by a cancer specialist in patients with de novo mLC.

      Methods:
      Adult patients diagnosed with de novo mLC between January 1, 2008 and March 31, 2014 were selected from a US commercial health claims database. All patients were followed for a minimum 3 months after the index date, defined as their first biopsy date. Patients who saw an oncologist/hematologist from 6 weeks before index date until the end of follow-up (end of data availability or health plan eligibility) were included in the cohort of patients who saw a cancer specialist. The remaining patients were included in the cohort of patients who did not see a cancer specialist. In both cohorts, the use of systemic antineoplastic therapy (Table 1) and radiation therapy was assessed following the index date.

      Results:
      The study sample consisted of 25,191 mLC patients, followed for a median of 9 months. Median age was 63 years (interquartile range: 57-73). 28.4% of the patients did not see a cancer specialist. Overall, 89.9% of the mLC patients received a cancer directed therapy during the follow-up (Table 1). The proportion of patients who received a cancer directed therapy during the follow-up was larger among patients seen by a cancer specialist (91.2% vs. 86.7%, p < .0001) (Table 1). Among patients who did not see a cancer specialist, 86.7% received antineoplastic therapy and/or radiotherapy during the follow-up, 2.6% were untreated and admitted to hospice, and 10.6% were untreated and were not admitted to hospice. The majority of patients who were not seen by a cancer specialist and received treatment were seen prior to the initiation of therapy by pulmonologists, internists, family physicians, and/or radiologists. Figure 1



      Conclusion:
      Approximately one in ten patients with de novo mLC did not receive any cancer directed therapy and a little more than one in four patients were not seen directly by a cancer specialist. Among patients not seen by a cancer specialist many received some form of cancer directed therapy. However, the access to cancer directed therapy of these patients remained significantly lower than that of mLC patients seen by a cancer specialist. Further research should be directed towards understanding and addressing disparities in access to appropriate cancer care.

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    P2.02 - Poster Session/ Treatment of Localized Disease – NSCLC (ID 210)

    • Event: WCLC 2015
    • Type: Poster
    • Track: Treatment of Localized Disease - NSCLC
    • Presentations: 1
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      P2.02-029 - Pre-Operative Pulmonary Function Tests (PFT) and Outcomes from Stage I and II Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) Treated with Surgery (ID 2385)

      09:30 - 17:00  |  Author(s): A.K. Ganti

      • Abstract
      • Slides

      Background:
      Pre-operative PFTs predict operative morbidity and mortality after resection in lung cancer. However, the impact of pre-operative PFT on overall survival (OS) in surgically resected stage I and II NSCLC is relatively less studied.

      Methods:
      This is a retrospective study of 149 patients who underwent surgical resection as first-line treatment for stage I and II NSCLC at a single center between 2003 and 2014. PFTs (FEV1, DLCO, both absolute values and percentage of predicted values were categorized into quartiles The Kaplan-Meier method and Cox regression analysis were used to determine whether PFTs predicted for OS. The t-test was used to compare the risk of post-op complications and length of stay greater than 10 days based on the results of PFTs and multivariate logistic regression was used for predictive modeling. P-value<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

      Results:
      The median age of the cohort was 68 years. The cohort was predominantly male (98.6%), current or ex-smokers (98%), with stage I NSCLC (82.76%). The majority of patients underwent a lobectomy (n=121, 81.21%). The predominant tumor histology was adenocarcinoma (n=70, 47%) followed by squamous cell carcinoma (n=61, 41%). The median follow-up of surviving patients was 53.2 months. Although DLCO was found to be a significant predictor of OS (HR: 0.93, 95% CI, 0.87-0.99; p=0.03), this was no longer significant on multivariate analysis. While PFTs did not predict for post-operative complications, worse PFTS were significant predictors of length of stay >10 days. Table 1. PFTs and Outcome:

      Multivariate model for of LOS > 10 days Odds Ratio(95% CI, p-value)
      FEV1 0.34(0.16-0.76,p=0.0087)
      FEV1 (percentage predicted) 0.96(0.94-0.99,p=0.0033)
      DLCO 0.78(0.68-0.90,p=0.0004)
      DLCO (percentage predicted) 0.96(0.94-0.99,p=0.0060)
      OS=Overall Survival, LOS= Length of stay, ULN= Upper Limit of Normal *PFT as continuous variables

      Conclusion:
      Preoperative PFTs did not predict for survival from resected early stage NSCLC, but did predict for longer hospital stays following surgery.

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