Dados do Trabalho

Título

PRACTICING PERSONALIZED MEDICINE IN NON-SMALL-CELL-LUNG-CANCER (NSCLC) IN BRAZIL: MEDICAL ONCOLOGIST´S CHALLENGES AND PERSPECTIVES

Introdução

Advances in genomic testing and personalized medicine have improved patient care and quality of life in driver-positive-NSCLC. Unfortunately, many of these advances are yet to be adequately incorporated in Brazil and it is known that less than half of newly diagnosed NSCLC undergo genomic testing.

Objetivo

We aimed to assess medical oncologist´s perspectives and challenges in driver-positive-NSCLC diagnosis and treatment in Brazil.

Método

Two thoracic medical oncologists developed a web survey to identify challenges in molecular diagnosis and treatment of driver-positive NSCLC. The survey is currently active and accepting new responses. We have sent out an email with the survey link to medical oncologists registered as seeing patients with NSCLC in the Brazilian Thoracic Oncology Group (Grupo Brasileiro de Oncologia Torácica GBOT) and the Latin America Cooperative Group (LACOG). Here, we present a preliminary analysis based on responses obtained between August 4th and August 11th 2021. Final numbers and results will be updated during the conference presentation.

Resultado

91 medical oncologists responded the survey during the aforementioned period. Genomic testing for lung adenocarcinoma is systematically ordered by 46.2% of the medical oncologists. Among participants, 73.6% are currently following 1 to 10 NSCLC patients (pts) weekly: 61.6% treat 4 or less EGFR-mutated NSCLC pts; 82.5% have 2 or less ALK-rearranged NSCLC pts. Testing turnaround time was the most prominent challenge described by participants (51.6%) as 72.5% of them do not dispose of in-house genomic testing. In addition, 25% of the medical oncologists do not feel confident enough to interpret sequencing results without support. Regarding targeted treatment, only 35.2% are completely confident to treat their driver-positive NSCLC pts; also, only 29.7% feel completely confident to manage side effects. When asked whether participants would adhere to an online platform with rapid help from experts to manage complex driver-positive-NSCLC cases, 92.3% said yes.

Conclusão

The uptake of broad genomic testing for NSCLC by medical oncologists appears to be low still, despite all education efforts in the field. Most oncologists treating driver-positive NSCLC in Brazil are not confident to manage complications and side effects related to targeted therapy. Brazilian medical oncologists are open and willing to improve their medical knowledge in NSCLC and genomic alterations.

Palavras-chave

Driver-positive-lung-cancer; targeted therapy; genomic testing

Área

Oncologia - Tumores torácicos