Aim: To screen and identify key genes related to the development of smoking-induced lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD).
Materials & methods: We obtained data from the GEO chip dataset GSE31210. The differentially expressed genes were screened by GEO2R. The protein interaction network of differentially expressed genes was constructed by STRING and Cytoscape. Finally, core genes were screened. The overall survival time of patients with the core genes was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier method. Gene ontology and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and genomes bioaccumulation was calculated by DAVID.
Results: Functional enrichment analysis indicated that nine key genes were actively involved in the biological process of smoking-related LUAD.
Conclusion: 23 core genes and nine key genes among them were correlated with adverse prognosis of LUAD induced by smoking.
Background: Checkpoint inhibitors are integral to non-small-cell lung cancer treatment. Existing data suggests that nutritional status may play a role in antitumor immunity.
Materials & methods: This retrospective study of 106 non-small-cell lung cancer patients who started checkpoint inhibitors between 2014 and 2017 at our institution assessed relationship of nutritional parameters to overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival.
Results: Mean age was 68.7 ± 9.2 years and 59.4% patients were male. On multivariate analysis for OS, hypoalbuminemia and significant weight loss were prognostic at p-values of 0.0005 and 0.0052, respectively. We noted a parabolic association between age and OS (p = 0.026, 0.0025).
Conclusion: In our study, some malnutrition parameters were associated with decreased OS. U-shape relationship between age and OS noted here warrants further evaluation.
Aim: Some patients with early stage large cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) of the lung are not surgical candidates and will be managed with radiotherapy. We used the national cancer database to identify predictors of stereotactic radiotherapy and compare outcomes.
Materials & methods: We queried national cancer database for T1-2N0 LCNEC treated with radiation. Logistic regression and Cox regression identified predictors of stereotactic ablative body radiotherapy (SABR) and survival, respectively.
Results: We identified 754 patients, with 238 (32%) treated with SABR. Predictors of SABR were distance to facility, no chemotherapy, academic center, T1 and recent year. After propensity matching, median survival was 34.7 months compared with 23.7 months in favor of SABR (p = 0.02).
Conclusion: SABR for LCNEC has increased over time and was associated with improved survival.
Aim: We evaluated the efficacy of a novel switch protocol for EGFR-TKIs for EGFR mutation-positive NSCLC.
Materials & methods: Clinical records were collected from the patients who had received one of two sequential combination strategies of EGFR-TKIs: Salvage use of osimertinib for T790M-mediated acquired resistance to an prior EGFR-TKI or switch use of osimertinib where an EGFR-TKI was switched to osimertinib before disease progression.
Results: Progression-free survival of osimertinib and time from the start of treatment until progression to osimertinib was comparable between the salvage use and switch use of osimertinib.
Conclusion: Switch use of osimertinib seemed to produce improved efficacy for patients with activating EGFR mutations, because of the lack of patient selection via T790M.
Aim: To estimate management cost of NSCLC ALK+ patients with and without brain metastasis (BM), and to compare annual costs in patients treated with alectinib or crizotinib.
Methods: Management cost/year (€ 2018) in patients with and without BM was estimated with disaggregated resource consumption provided by local oncologists, including medical visits, hospitalizations, diagnostic/laboratory tests, imaging techniques and surgical procedures. The comparison of costs/year with alectinib and crizotinib, considered the cumulative 12-month incidence of BM in ALEX trial (9.4 and 41.4%, respectively).
Results: Management cost was €6173.42/patient-year without BM and €21,637.50/patient-year with BM. With alectinib, average cost/patient was lower than crizotinib (€4948.51/patient-year).
Conclusion: Prevention of BM with alectinib may result in reductions of cost/year in the management of advanced ALK+ NSCLC.
Aim: Several consensus guidelines recommend against routine brain imaging at diagnosis of T1-3N0 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Methods: From the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results registry, patients with pathologically confirmed T1-3N0 NSCLC were identified. Risks of brain metastases at time of initial diagnosis were analyzed.
Results: Patients selected to not undergo primary NSCLC resection had approximately tenfold greater incidence of brain metastases versus those who did. Younger age, adenocarcinoma histology, higher tumor stage and higher histologic grade were all significantly (p < 0.0001) associated with greater likelihood of presenting with brain metastases.
Conclusion: Given the morbidity and mortality of brain metastases, routine brain screening after NSCLC diagnosis (particularly adenocarcinoma) may be justifiable, though more refined cost-benefit analyses are warranted.