2023 World Conference on Lung Cancer (Posters)-P1.25. Comparing Timeliness of Treatment for Surgery vs Radiation for Early-Stage Lung Cancer

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This study compared the timeliness of treatment for early-stage lung cancer patients undergoing surgery versus stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT). The researchers found that patients undergoing SBRT faced a median delay of over 5 weeks compared to those undergoing surgery. This delay may be correlated with worse health outcomes post-treatment, as SBRT patients were generally older and had more comorbidities. The study emphasized the importance of reducing delays to treatment, particularly for patients who are not surgical candidates.<br /><br />The research included patients enrolled in the Initiative for Early Lung Cancer Research on Treatment study at the Mount Sinai Health System from 2016-2023. The time to treatment initiation (TTI) was calculated using three dates: the date of the first suspicious radiologic finding, the date of the first biopsy, and the date of treatment. The results showed that there were extensive delays from the time of suspicious radiologic findings to definitive treatment.<br /><br />The study also analyzed the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on TTI. It found that the pandemic increased delays, particularly in the time from suspicious scan to biopsy. However, the delay in the SBRT group started to decrease rapidly in late 2022, and by that time, patients in the SBRT group had comparable or even less delay than the surgical group.<br /><br />When comparing the demographic and clinical differences between the surgical and SBRT groups, the study found that the SBRT group was older, had more current smokers, had a greater proportion of Black or African American patients, and had more medical comorbidities. Factors associated with delays included current smoking, Hispanic ethnicity, pre-obesity, COPD, receiving SBRT, Black or African American race, and age.<br /><br />Overall, the study highlighted the need to reduce delays in treatment for early-stage lung cancer patients, particularly for those who are not surgical candidates. The research provides valuable insights into the timeliness of treatment and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on TTI.

Asset Subtitle

Jeffrey Zhu

Meta Tag

Speaker Jeffrey Zhu

Topic Early-Stage NSCLC: Changing Paradigms & Outcomes

Keywords

early-stage lung cancer

surgery

stereotactic body radiotherapy

timeliness of treatment

health outcomes

comorbidities

Initiative for Early Lung Cancer Research on Treatment

time to treatment initiation

COVID-19 pandemic

demographic and clinical differences