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G. Walia



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    OA16 - Improving the Quality of Lung Cancer Care - Patients Perspective (ID 399)

    • Event: WCLC 2016
    • Type: Oral Session
    • Track: Patient Support and Advocacy Groups
    • Presentations: 2
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      OA16.03 - The ALCF Centers of Excellence Model Delivers a Standard of Care to the Community Similar to Academic and Research Centers (Abstract under Embargo until December 4, 7:00 CET) (ID 6334)

      16:20 - 16:30  |  Author(s): G. Walia

      • Abstract
      • Presentation
      • Slides

      Background:
      The disparities in lung cancer treatment and outcomes among minorities are well documented.1 Further, 80% of cancer patients are treated in the community hospital setting yet may not receive the same level of care as those treated at leading academic centers. The Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation (ALCF) Centers of Excellence (COE) program addresses this unmet need. The COE program is a patient-centric model for lung cancer that establishes a standard of care for community hospitals which often treat minority and underserved patient populations. The COE program, which currently includes 13 hospitals in regions of high unmet need, aims to improve the standard of care, patient experience and patient outcome by offering patients and caregivers the same type of multi-disciplinary and comprehensive care provided at leading academic centers. ALCF also provides lung cancer education and services to patients, caregivers and the community.

      Methods:
      The COE program tracks patient process data longitudinally for multiple quality-of-care metrics, including disease stage at diagnosis; molecular testing; tumor board review; time from diagnosis to treatment; treatment type; and clinical trial participation. Site data will also be monitored to provide a contextual picture of the program including total patients seen, demographics, insurance mix, rates and outcomes of molecular testing among other metrics. Data is analyzed across the COE community and against comparator groups to demonstrate impact of the COE program.

      Results:
      The COE program serves thousands of patients each year with a significant representation of minorities and underserved populations. Baptist Memorial Health Care System is an example of a COE that has demonstrated implementation of the COE model by providing multi-disciplinary care to a diverse population. Among those reporting race at Baptist, minorities represent more than 30% of lung cancer patients. Memorial Health Care System is another COE that is reaching and serving a diverse patient population. The patient mix at Memorial is : 64% whites; 18% Hispanics; and 18% African American. At Memorial, approximately 10% of the patient population is uninsured. Further, Memorial molecularly tests all stage III/IV patients. Compared with community hospitals in the National Cancer Database the patient mix is about 84% white, 2.5% Hispanic and 11% African American with 3% uninsured.

      Conclusion:
      The ALCF COE program is demonstrating that underserved lung cancer patient populations can be reached and receive standard of care treatment. The patient-focused COE approach effectively removes barriers to quality care.

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      OA16.07 - Patient-Driven Epidemiologic Assessment of ROS1-Fusion Driven Cancers (ID 6239)

      17:05 - 17:15  |  Author(s): G. Walia

      • Abstract
      • Presentation
      • Slides

      Background:
      There are limited data on factors that contribute to the development of ROS1-fusion positive cancers. A group of ROS1+ patients approached the Bonnie J. Addario Lung Cancer Foundation (ALCF) for support of ROS1 research. As a first step in this unique, patient-driven effort, we designed a survey to understand epidemiologic/clinical factors that may contribute to the development and progression of ROS1 cancers. We aim to collect data with biospecimens and make these available through an open-access data-sharing platform to accelerate ROS1 research.

      Methods:
      With guidance from ROS1 patients, we designed a 204-question survey, obtained Stanford University IRB approval. The survey on the ALCF website from May 18, 2016, was widely publicized through conferences, patient support networks, social media and community-based outreach. The survey questions address demographic-, clinical-, diagnostic and treatment- factors, family and reproductive history, dietary, exercise, environmental exposure and hormone and substance use. We used Z-proportions test for statistical significance defined as p<0.05.

      Results:
      In 53 days, 95 global patients with ROS1-fusion+ cancer responded to the survey (median age at diagnosis 56 years). Respondents were 71% female (n=52/73), 79% never smokers (49/62). 71% respondents were otherwise healthy before diagnosis (n=46/65). The majority of respondents were diagnosed with lung cancer (n=68/72); and one each with gastric, ovarian, cervical and liver cancer. 76% reported metastatic disease (n=52/68) at diagnosis with the most common site of metastases as contralateral lung (65%) and bone (46%). 52% patients reported their ROS1 cancers were not detected at diagnosis (n=35/67); 80% didnot know their specific translocation (51/64). 71% patients received molecular testing on physicians’ orders (n=45/63), with 21% self-initiating molecular testing. Despite the availability of targeted treatments and clinical trials, most patients were prescribed chemotherapy in their first (62%), second (49%), third (60%) and further lines of therapy. 76% patients reported that crizotinib was the therapy that worked best, with 96% reporting significant improvement in symptoms and QoL. We found no significant correlations between oral contraceptive/hormone/anabolic steroid use, occupational exposure, geographic area of employment/residence, family history of cancer, and incidence of ROS1+ cancer.

      Conclusion:
      This is a unique patient and non-profit advocacy group-driven investigation that seeks to understand factors that may influence development and treatment of ROS1 cancers. The results highlight patient-centricity, the importance of upfront molecular testing and targeted therapies. We report patient-reported experiences with ROS1 testing and durable responses to targeted treatments e.g. crizotinib. As the study is ongoing, we will update results in December 2016.

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