Real World Data from Lung Cancer patients presented at WCLC 2022
The World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) is an international forum held annually by the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC). After two virtual editions, the conference took place from 6-9 August 2022 in the heart of Europe - Vienna, Austria.
CareAcross attended the WCLC 2022, where we had the honour to present two abstracts with our latest findings based on Real World Data, as reported by lung cancer patients using our platform. The corresponding posters focused on:
- Comparing lung cancer side-effects between past/current smokers and never smokers
- Differences in toxicity among platinum-based combinations as reported by Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) patients
Do lung cancer side effects differ between past/current smokers and never smokers?
The relationship between smoking and cancer has been documented before, with smoking being the number one risk factor for lung cancer. On the other hand, the link between lung cancer side-effects and current or past smoking has not been adequately examined.
Our analysis included 830 lung cancer patients (471 past/current smokers and 359 never smokers) from 8 countries who reported side-effects.
Results
Our study showed that past/current smokers with lung cancer reported a consistently higher incidence of side-effects compared to never smokers.
The difference was calculated to be statistically significant for fatigue (74% vs 67%), breathlessness (49% vs 38%) and appetite loss (30% vs 23%). Differences between sleeping problems and pain were calculated as only marginally significant, while cough, dry mouth and constipation did not exhibit statistical significance.
The only side-effect that was more prevalent in patients with no smoking history, compared to smokers, was rash/dry skin.
Studies have shown that patients can benefit from quitting smoking after a lung cancer diagnosis. When combined with personalised support, it can result in improved quality of life.
You can read the abstract here.
Differences in toxicity among platinum-based combinations
Platinum-based combinations constitute the backbone of chemotherapy in NSCLC. Some of the most common such treatments include cisplatin and carboplatin. Although both are considered to exhibit similar activity, their toxicity profiles may differ. In our latest study, we collected patients’ reported data on side-effects to identify differences in toxicity among cisplatin and carboplatin based combinations.
The study included 845 lung cancer patients from 8 countries.
Results
In most of the combinations, cisplatin and carboplatin exhibited similar toxicity profiles. However, the analysis of the subset of patients taking them with either pembrolizumab or pemetrexed revealed important and consistent differences.
More specifically, pembrolizumab combinations included cisplatin vs carboplatin in 31 vs 37 patients; pemetrexed combinations included cisplatin vs carboplatin in 56 vs 49 patients, respectively. Among all these combinations, patients receiving cisplatin generally reported fewer side-effects.
In particular, when cisplatin was used, fatigue, breathlessness, sleeping problems, dry mouth, constipation, food taste issues and appetite loss were less common.
Cough was more frequently reported with cisplatin (with either pembrolizumab or pemetrexed); rash & dry skin was marginally more common when cisplatin was used with pemetrexed but not with pembrolizumab.
You may read the abstract here.
Conclusion
CareAcross personalised and multilingual online platforms can provide cancer patients with valuable support throughout their journey. The personalisation is based on patients’ diagnoses, biomarkers, treatments, comorbidities, side-effects, and other input that is analysed via advanced algorithms.
This interaction and support also lead to collection of substantial real world data. This data can lead to evidence that can substantially enhance the experience and care of patients and the workflow of healthcare professionals. Moreover, it can guide both industry and researchers towards new findings to help really place patients at the centre.
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank each and every patient who shared their experiences and helped us reach these findings. These real world data were presented to the largest lung cancer conference in the world (WCLC), giving access to thousands of oncologists, researchers and patients to valuable information and insights.
The authors of the abstracts would also like to thank all colleagues involved in conducting the research, as well as the entire CareAcross team for their passion, care and dedication towards supporting people affected by cancer.
Past abstracts and posters
Please feel free to browse some of our earlier material, including:
ASCO 2022: Quality of Life interventions
ESMO Breast Cancer 2022: Aromatase Inhibitors; Comorbidities
ESMO 2021: Immunotherapy
WCLC 2021: Immunotherapy; Support Needs; Medication Adherence
ASCO 2021: Remote symptom management; COVID-19 vaccination