Author of

• 20154

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  P1.05 - Early Stage NSCLC (ID 691)

  • Event: WCLC 2017
  • Type: Poster Session with Presenters Present
  • Track: Early Stage NSCLC
  • Presentations: 1
  • Moderators:
  • Coordinates: 10/16/2017, 09:30 - 16:00, Exhibit Hall (Hall B + C)

  • 24658

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    P1.05-022c - Screening for Psychosocial Distress in Lung Cancer: Defining the Unmet Gaps (ID 8412)

    09:30 - 09:30  |  Author(s): M. McInerney
    • Abstract

    Background:
    Objective: The evaluation of supportive care needs in lung cancer patients may be enhanced by engaging systematic screening using a validated distress screening tool, the distress thermometer (DT). We aimed to identify the extent of use of the screening tool, levels of distress and psychosocial problems identified by the tool and to determine associations with distress and the impacts of distress screening on patient outcomes in an Australian university teaching hospital.
    
    Method:
    We recruited all new lung cancer diagnoses recruited via the Victorian Lung Cancer Registry at the Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Australia, during the period 14 July 2011 to 24 September 2016. We evaluated the presence of documented supportive care screening using the distress thermometer and demographic, clinical, treatment and outcome measures.
    
    Result:
    Levels of screening were very low (15.2%) amongst this cohort and yet 49.2% respondents described high levels of distress (median DT 3.5; IQR 1-6). High levels of distress (DT≥4) were associated with higher levels of practical, family, emotional and physical problems. Patients reporting higher levels of distress experienced an accelerated rate of decline in physical component of quality of life and had increased risk of death.
    
    Conclusion:
    The identification of the supportive care needs for lung cancer patients may be augmented by the use of a systematic screening tool. This study identifies significant gap in supportive care screening, high levels of distress amongst screened subjects and poorer patient related outcomes for distressed patients. This study provides an important platform for institutional supportive care screening strategy planning.