Dataset Information

Variation Between Multidisciplinary Tumor Boards in Clinical Staging and Treatment Recommendations for Patients With Locally Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Accurate diagnosis and staging are crucial to ensure uniform allocation to the optimal treatment methods for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, but may differ among multidisciplinary tumor boards (MDTs). Discordance between clinical and pathologic TNM stage is particularly important for patients with locally advanced NSCLC (stage IIIA) because it may influence their chance of allocation to curative-intent treatment. We therefore aimed to study agreement on staging and treatment to gain insight into MDT decision-making.

Research question

What is the level of agreement on clinical staging and treatment recommendations among MDTs in stage IIIA NSCLC patients?

Study design and methods

Eleven MDTs each evaluated the same 10 pathologic stage IIIA NSCLC patients in their weekly meeting (n = 110). Patients were selected purposively for their challenging nature. All MDTs received exactly the same clinical information and images per patient. We tested agreement in cT stage, cN stage, cM stage (TNM 8th edition), and treatment proposal among MDTs using Randolph's free-marginal multirater kappa.

Results

Considerable variation among the MDTs was seen in T staging (?, 0.55 [95% CI, 0.34-0.75]), N staging (?, 0.59 [95% CI, 0.35-0.83]), overall TNM staging (?, 0.53 [95% CI, 0.35-0.72]), and treatment recommendations (?, 0.44 [95% CI, 0.32-0.56]). Most variation in T stage was seen in patients with suspicion of invasion of surrounding structures, which influenced such treatment recommendations as induction therapy and type. For N stage, distinction between N1 and N2 disease was an important source of discordance among MDTs. Variation occurred between 2 patients even regarding M stage. A wide range of additional diagnostics was proposed by the MDTs.

Interpretation

This study demonstrated high variation in staging and treatment of patients with stage IIIA NSCLC among MDTs in different hospitals. Although some variation may be unavoidable in these challenging patients, we should strive for more uniformity.

SUBMITTER: Hoeijmakers F

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7768935 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Variation Between Multidisciplinary Tumor Boards in Clinical Staging and Treatment Recommendations for Patients With Locally Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer.

Hoeijmakers Fieke F Heineman David J DJ Daniels Johannes M JM Beck Naomi N Tollenaar Rob A E M RAEM Wouters Michel W J M MWJM Marang-van de Mheen Perla J PJ Schreurs Wilhelmina H WH

Chest 20200730 6

<h4>Background</h4>Accurate diagnosis and staging are crucial to ensure uniform allocation to the optimal treatment methods for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, but may differ among multidisciplinary tumor boards (MDTs). Discordance between clinical and pathologic TNM stage is particularly important for patients with locally advanced NSCLC (stage IIIA) because it may influence their chance of allocation to curative-intent treatment. We therefore aimed to study agreement on staging an ...[more]

PMID: 32738254

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Project description:BackgroundWe have carried out a study to determine the scope for reducing heart doses in photon beam radiotherapy of locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (LA-NSCLC).Materials and methodsBaseline VMAT plans were created for 20 LA-NSCLC patients following the IDEAL-CRT isotoxic protocol, and were re-optimized after adding an objective limiting heart mean dose (MDHeart). Reductions in MDHeart achievable without breaching limits on target coverage or normal tissue irradiation were determined. The process was repeated for objectives limiting the heart volume receiving ≥ 50 Gy (VHeart-50-Gy) and left atrial wall volume receiving ≥ 63 Gy (VLAwall-63-Gy).ResultsFollowing re-optimization, mean MDHeart, VHeart-50-Gy and VLAwall-63-Gy values fell by 4.8 Gy and 2.2% and 2.4% absolute respectively. On the basis of associations observed between survival and cardiac irradiation in an independent dataset, the purposefully-achieved reduction in MDHeart is expected to lead to the largest improvement in overall survival. It also led to useful knock-on reductions in many measures of cardiac irradiation including VHeart-50-Gy and VLAwall-63-Gy, providing some insurance against survival being more strongly related to these measures than to MDHeart. The predicted hazard ratio (HR) for death corresponding to the purposefully-achieved mean reduction in MDHeart was 0.806, according to which a randomized trial would require 1140 patients to test improved survival with 0.05 significance and 80% power. In patients whose baseline MDHeart values exceeded the median value in a published series, the average MDHeart reduction was particularly large, 8.8 Gy. The corresponding predicted HR is potentially testable in trials recruiting 359 patients enriched for greater MDHeart values.ConclusionsCardiac irradiation in RT of LA-NSCLC can be reduced substantially. Of the measures studied, reduction of MDHeart led to the greatest predicted increase in survival, and to useful knock-on reductions in other cardiac irradiation measures reported to be associated with survival. Potential improvements in survival can be trialled more efficiently in a population enriched for patients with greater baseline MDHeart levels, for whom larger reductions in heart doses can be achieved.

Dataset Information

Variation Between Multidisciplinary Tumor Boards in Clinical Staging and Treatment Recommendations for Patients With Locally Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer.

Background

Research question

Study design and methods

Results

Interpretation

Publications

Variation Between Multidisciplinary Tumor Boards in Clinical Staging and Treatment Recommendations for Patients With Locally Advanced Non-small Cell Lung Cancer.

Similar Datasets

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