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H. Kadkhoda



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    P2.01 - Poster Session/ Treatment of Advanced Diseases – NSCLC (ID 207)

    • Event: WCLC 2015
    • Type: Poster
    • Track: Treatment of Advanced Diseases - NSCLC
    • Presentations: 1
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      P2.01-004 - Oncologists' Comprehension and Beliefs Surrounding Cancer Immunotherapy in Advanced NSCLC (ID 1267)

      09:30 - 17:00  |  Author(s): H. Kadkhoda

      • Abstract
      • Slides

      Background:
      Advanced NSCLC is now recognized as an immune-modifiable disease, and with the approval of the first PD-1 inhibitor, immune checkpoint inhibitors represent a new standard of care for patients with previously treated squamous cell lung cancer. The objective of this study was to evaluate oncologists’ familiarity with cancer immunotherapy in the context of advanced NSCLC and the impact of an educational curriculum on narrowing gaps in clinical practices.

      Methods:
      An expert panel of oncologists identified educational gaps in the area of cancer immunotherapy. A series of 9 CME online activities were developed, 2 of which centered on advanced NSCLC and are the focus of this study. Interactivity questions allowed learners to self-report their familiarity with immunotherapy concepts in the management of advanced NSCLC, while case vignette and knowledge-based questions were constructed around evidence-based medicine. Confidentiality of survey respondents was maintained and responses were de-identified and aggregated prior to all analyses.

      Results:
      1368 oncologists participated in the 2 activities on advanced NSCLC. As seen in the table below participation in the education activities resulted in numerous improvements in knowledge and competence as seen in the table below. Despite improvements, several important gaps remained. Only70% of oncologists comprehend that a tumor may increase in size or new lesions appear during initial therapy with an immune checkpoint inhibitor. In addition, about half of oncologists still had difficulty grasping how immune checkpoints downregulate T cell responses. Finally, oncologists still had difficulty identifying the unique side effect profile associated with immune checkpoint inhibitors. In addition, 55% of oncologists reported they were not comfortable with managing side effects associated with these agents.

      Table
      % answered correctly % answered correctly
      Pre-Activity Post-Activity
      Comprehension of Basic Immunology
      Interaction of TCR with MHC-peptide complex and co-stimulatory receptors CD28/CD80 and CD86 52% 69%
      Which does not represent a role of an immune checkpoint in the adaptive immune response: CTLA-4 binds to CD28, augmenting T-cell activation 50% 57%
      Knowledge of Immune System’s Role in Response to Cancer
      T cell infiltration and decreased risk of recurrence 69% 76%
      Disease progression on an immune checkpoint inhibitor 65% 71%
      Efficacy, Safety, Limitations of Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors
      Limitations PD-L1 as a biomarker 26% 70%
      Durability of response 5% 30%
      Unique side effect profile 41% 59%


      Conclusion:
      The study evaluated oncologists’ familiarity with cancer immunotherapy in advanced NSCLC and demonstrated the necessity of developing targeted educational interventions for improving the knowledge and practice patterns of oncologists. Additional education is needed to continue to improve clinicians’ competence in the use of cancer immunotherapies in the management of NSCLC.

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