Highlights from a Gather Session: EGFR-positive Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
NSCLC Connect recently hosted a Q&A session with Oncologists regarding EGFR-positive Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
Below are some highlights from the discussion:
Respondents noted that combined ramucirumab plus erlotinib was generally well-tolerated by patients; however, certain toxicities of concern were noted (e.g., cutaneous reactions, fatigue, hypertension)
For discussions with patients regarding choice of treatment, most respondents offered support, with conversation often focusing on quality of life, survival, and so forth.
- “I basically tell them that they have an incurable disease, but they have a high likelihood of disease control with disease improvement. And then we talk about if their disease progresses through these agents, that they may be eligible for second- or third-line treatments.”
Patient questions often center around adverse effects, cost, and quality of life.
Some respondents noted that follow-up with imaging, assessment of symptoms, and so forth is key to prognosis when using targeted therapy.
- “… I will do scan at 8 weeks if they have a lot of issues, or 12 weeks if they're tolerating well, to evaluate how they responded to treatment, and that will help me to make better judgment regarding their prognosis.”
- “These are patients that have metastatic, incurable disease, so we certainly discuss things with them and their family about the targeted agents and their side effects, as well as their efficacy, and that we'll be doing imaging every 3 or 4 months to assess the effectiveness.”
A few respondents stated they are in want of more robust, longer-term data regarding the efficacy and safety of combined agents vs. a single agent.
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Albert Dekker3yruseful
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Alireza Mirmiran3yrVery interesting and informative post.
