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Patterns of care for stage III non–small cell lung cancer in Australia
Author(s) -
Parente Phillip,
Chan Bryan A.,
Hughes Brett G. M.,
Jasas Kevin,
Joshi Rohit,
Kao Steven,
HegiJohnson Fiona,
Hui Rina,
McLaughlinBarrett Sara,
Nordman Ina,
Stone Emily
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
asia‐pacific journal of clinical oncology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.73
H-Index - 29
eISSN - 1743-7563
pISSN - 1743-7555
DOI - 10.1111/ajco.13140
Subject(s) - durvalumab , referral , medicine , stage (stratigraphy) , lung cancer , intensive care medicine , cancer , multidisciplinary approach , multidisciplinary team , oncology , immunotherapy , family medicine , nursing , nivolumab , paleontology , social science , sociology , biology
Stage III non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) makes up a third of all NSCLC cases and is potentially curable. Despite this 5‐year survival rates remain between 15% and 20% with chemoradiation treatment alone given with curative intent. With the recent exciting breakthroughs in immunotherapy use (durvalumab) for stage III NSCLC, further improvements in patient survival can be expected. Most patients with stage III NSCLC present initially to their general practitioner (GP). The recommended time from GP referral to first specialist appointment is less than 14 days with treatment initiated within 42 days. Our review found that there is a shortfall in meeting these recommendations, however a number of initiatives have been established in Australia to improve timely and accurate diagnosis and treatment patterns. The lung cancer multidisciplinary team (MDT) is critical to consistency of evidence‐based diagnosis and treatment and can improve patient survival. We aimed to review current patterns of care and clinical practice recommendations for stage III NSCLC across Australia and identify opportunities to improve practice in referral, diagnosis and treatment pathways.