Considerations that should be reviewed under a proposed framework for modifying cancer care in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic are examined. The time-sensitivity of patient need for visits and ...treatment, as well as the risk of infectious exposure, must be taken into account. The importance of scrutinizing hospital and staff capacity, as well as stress, is also underscored.
Barriers to cancer clinical trial participation have been the subject of frequent study, but the rate of trial participation has not changed substantially over time. Studies often emphasize ...patient-related barriers, but other types of barriers may have greater impact on trial participation. Our goal was to examine the magnitude of different domains of trial barriers by synthesizing prior research.
We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies that examined the trial decision-making pathway using a uniform framework to characterize and quantify structural (trial availability), clinical (eligibility), and patient/physician barrier domains. The systematic review utilized the PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and Ovid Medline search engines. We used random effects to estimate rates of different domains across studies, adjusting for academic vs community care settings.
We identified 13 studies (nine in academic and four in community settings) with 8883 patients. A trial was unavailable for patients at their institution 55.6% of the time (95% confidence interval CI = 43.7% to 67.3%). Further, 21.5% (95% CI = 10.9% to 34.6%) of patients were ineligible for an available trial, 14.8% (95% CI = 9.0% to 21.7%) did not enroll, and 8.1% (95% CI = 6.3% to 10.0%) enrolled. Rates of trial enrollment in academic (15.9% 95% CI = 13.8% to 18.2%) vs community (7.0% 95% CI = 5.1% to 9.1%) settings differed, but not rates of trial unavailability, ineligibility, or non-enrollment.
These findings emphasize the enormous need to address structural and clinical barriers to trial participation, which combined make trial participation unachievable for more than three of four cancer patients.
To update the ASCO guideline on the recommended prevention and treatment approaches in the management of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) in adult cancer survivors.
An Expert Panel ...conducted targeted systematic literature reviews to identify new studies.
The search strategy identified 257 new references, which led to a full-text review of 87 manuscripts. A total of 3 systematic reviews, 2 with meta-analyses, and 28 primary trials for prevention of CIPN in addition to 14 primary trials related to treatment of established CIPN, are included in this update.
The identified data reconfirmed that no agents are recommended for the prevention of CIPN. The use of acetyl-l-carnitine for the prevention of CIPN in patients with cancer should be discouraged. Furthermore, clinicians should assess the appropriateness of dose delaying, dose reduction, substitutions, or stopping chemotherapy in patients who develop intolerable neuropathy and/or functional impairment. Duloxetine is the only agent that has appropriate evidence to support its use for patients with established painful CIPN. Nonetheless, the amount of benefit from duloxetine is limited.Additional information is available at www.asco.org/survivorship-guidelines.
Purpose The Society for Integrative Oncology (SIO) produced an evidence-based guideline on use of integrative therapies during and after breast cancer treatment that was determined to be relevant to ...the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) membership. ASCO considered the guideline for endorsement. Methods The SIO guideline addressed the use of integrative therapies for the management of symptoms and adverse effects, such as anxiety and stress, mood disorders, fatigue, quality of life, chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, lymphedema, chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, pain, and sleep disturbance. Interventions of interest included mind and body practices, natural products, and lifestyle modifications. SIO systematic reviews focused on randomized controlled trials that were published from 1990 through 2015. The SIO guideline was reviewed by ASCO content experts for clinical accuracy and by ASCO methodologists for developmental rigor. On favorable review, an ASCO Expert Panel was convened to review the guideline contents and recommendations. Results The ASCO Expert Panel determined that the recommendations in the SIO guideline-published in 2017-are clear, thorough, and based on the most relevant scientific evidence. ASCO endorsed the guideline with a few added discussion points. Recommendations Key recommendations include the following: Music therapy, meditation, stress management, and yoga are recommended for anxiety/stress reduction. Meditation, relaxation, yoga, massage, and music therapy are recommended for depression/mood disorders. Meditation and yoga are recommended to improve quality of life. Acupressure and acupuncture are recommended for reducing chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting. Acetyl-l-carnitine is not recommended to prevent chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy because of a possibility of harm. No strong evidence supports the use of ingested dietary supplements to manage breast cancer treatment-related adverse effects. Additional information is available at: www.asco.org/supportive-care-guidelines .
To develop guideline recommendations concerning optimal neoadjuvant therapy for breast cancer.
ASCO convened an Expert Panel to conduct a systematic review of the literature on neoadjuvant therapy ...for breast cancer and provide recommended care options.
A total of 41 articles met eligibility criteria and form the evidentiary basis for the guideline recommendations.
Patients undergoing neoadjuvant therapy should be managed by a multidisciplinary care team. Appropriate candidates for neoadjuvant therapy include patients with inflammatory breast cancer and those in whom residual disease may prompt a change in therapy. Neoadjuvant therapy can also be used to reduce the extent of local therapy or reduce delays in initiating therapy. Although tumor histology, grade, stage, and estrogen, progesterone, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) expression should routinely be used to guide clinical decisions, there is insufficient evidence to support the use of other markers or genomic profiles. Patients with triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) who have clinically node-positive and/or at least T1c disease should be offered an anthracycline- and taxane-containing regimen; those with cT1a or cT1bN0 TNBC should not routinely be offered neoadjuvant therapy. Carboplatin may be offered to patients with TNBC to increase pathologic complete response. There is currently insufficient evidence to support adding immune checkpoint inhibitors to standard chemotherapy. In patients with hormone receptor (HR)-positive (HR-positive), HER2-negative tumors, neoadjuvant chemotherapy can be used when a treatment decision can be made without surgical information. Among postmenopausal patients with HR-positive, HER2-negative disease, hormone therapy can be used to downstage disease. Patients with node-positive or high-risk node-negative, HER2-positive disease should be offered neoadjuvant therapy in combination with anti-HER2-positive therapy. Patients with T1aN0 and T1bN0, HER2-positive disease should not be routinely offered neoadjuvant therapy.Additional information is available at www.asco.org/breast-cancer-guidelines.
To provide evidence-based guidance on the optimum prevention and treatment approaches in the management of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathies (CIPN) in adult cancer survivors.
A systematic ...literature search identified relevant, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) for the treatment of CIPN. Primary outcomes included incidence and severity of neuropathy as measured by neurophysiologic changes, patient-reported outcomes, and quality of life.
A total of 48 RCTs met eligibility criteria and comprise the evidentiary basis for the recommendations. Trials tended to be small and heterogeneous, many with insufficient sample sizes to detect clinically important differences in outcomes. Primary outcomes varied across the trials, and in most cases, studies were not directly comparable because of different outcomes, measurements, and instruments used at different time points. The strength of the recommendations is based on the quality, amount, and consistency of the evidence and the balance between benefits and harms.
On the basis of the paucity of high-quality, consistent evidence, there are no agents recommended for the prevention of CIPN. With regard to the treatment of existing CIPN, the best available data support a moderate recommendation for treatment with duloxetine. Although the CIPN trials are inconclusive regarding tricyclic antidepressants (such as nortriptyline), gabapentin, and a compounded topical gel containing baclofen, amitriptyline HCL, and ketamine, these agents may be offered on the basis of data supporting their utility in other neuropathic pain conditions given the limited other CIPN treatment options. Further research on these agents is warranted.
To examine the use of inpatient hysterectomy and explore changes in the use of various routes of hysterectomy and patterns of referral.
The Nationwide Inpatient Sample was used to identify all women ...aged 18 years or older who underwent inpatient hysterectomy between 1998 and 2010. Weighted estimates of national trends were calculated and the number of procedures performed estimated. Trends in hospital volume and across hospital characteristics were examined.
After weighting, we identified a total 7,438,452 women who underwent inpatient hysterectomy between 1998 and 2010. The number of hysterectomies performed annually rose from 543,812 in 1998 to a peak of 681,234 in 2002; it then declined consistently annually and reached 433,621 cases in 2010. Overall, 247,973 (36.4%) fewer hysterectomies were performed in 2010 compared with 2002. From 2002 to 2010 the number of hysterectomies performed for each of the following indications declined: leiomyoma (-47.6%), abnormal bleeding (-28.9%), benign ovarian mass (-63.1%), endometriosis (-65.3%), and pelvic organ prolapse (-39.4%). The median hospital case volume decreased from 83 procedures per year in 2002 to 50 cases per year in 2010 (P<.001).
The number of inpatient hysterectomies performed in the United States has declined substantially over the past decade. The median number of hysterectomies per hospital has declined likewise by more than 40%.
III.
Geographic access to care may be associated with receipt of chemotherapy but has not been fully examined. This study sought to evaluate the association between density of oncologists and travel ...distance and receipt of adjuvant chemotherapy for colon cancer within 90 days of colectomy.
Patients in the National Cancer Data Base with stage III colon cancer, diagnosed between 2007 and 2010, and age 18 to 80 years were selected. Generalized estimating equation clustering by hospital service area was conducted to examine the association between geographic access and receipt of oncology services, controlling for patient sociodemographic and clinical characteristics.
Of 34,694 patients in the study cohort, 75.7% received adjuvant chemotherapy within 90 days of colectomy. Compared with travel distance less than 12.5 miles, patients who traveled 50 to 249 miles (odds ratio OR, 0.87; P=.009) or ≥250 miles (OR, 0.36; P<.001) had decreased likelihood of receiving adjuvant chemotherapy. Density level of oncologists was not statistically associated with receipt of adjuvant chemotherapy (low v high density: OR, 0.98; P=.77). When stratifying analyses by insurance status, non-privately insured patients who resided in areas with low density of oncologists were less likely to receive adjuvant chemotherapy (OR, 0.85; P=.03).
Increased travel burden was associated with a decreased likelihood of receiving adjuvant chemotherapy, regardless of insurance status. Patients with nonprivate insurance who resided in low-density oncologist areas were less likely to receive adjuvant chemotherapy. If these findings are validated prospectively, interventions to decrease geographic barriers may improve the timeliness and quality of colon cancer treatment.
The goal of comparative effectiveness research is to inform clinical decisions between alternate treatment strategies using data that reflect real patient populations and real-world clinical ...scenarios for the purpose of improving patient outcomes. Observational studies using population-based registry data are increasingly relied on to fill the information gaps created by lack of evidence from randomized controlled trials. Administrative data sets have many advantages, including large sample sizes, long-term follow-up, and inclusion of data on physician and systems characteristics as well as cost. In this review, we describe the characteristics of many of the commonly used population-based data sets and discuss the elements included within these data sets. An overview of common research themes that rely on population-based data and illustrative examples are presented. Finally, an overview of the analytic techniques commonly employed by health services researchers to limit the effects of selection bias and confounding is discussed. The analysis of well-designed studies of comparative effectiveness is complex. However, careful framing, appropriate study design, and application of sophisticated analytic techniques can improve the accuracy of nonrandomized studies. There are multiple areas where the unique characteristics of observational studies can inform medical decision making and health policy, and it is critical to appreciate the opportunities, strengths, and limitations of observational research.
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