Measures of aggressive care in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients
9063 Background: Data suggests that cancer care has become more aggressive over the last decade. Patients with advanced NSCLC have a short life expectancy and achieve only a modest survival benefit from chemotherapy. Investigating the aggressiveness of care during and at the end of life (EOL) is a key first step to better understanding quality of care in this patient population. Methods: This exploratory study uses previously defined measures of aggressive care (Earle, JCO 22(2), 2004) to evaluate a small cohort of patients with advanced NSCLC. We performed a pilot study of integrated palliative care in good performance status (PS) patients with newly diagnosed advanced NSCLC, which has been previously reported. This is a retrospective chart review of patients accrued at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) using the electronic medical record and case report forms for data collection. Results: 46 patients were enrolled from 10/03 to 6/05 (median age 65.5, 28 female). 43 (93%) patients had stage IV disease and the remainder had stage IIIB with effusions. 45 (98%) of patients had PS 0–1. 39 (85%) patients died at the time of chart review with a median follow up of 29.3 months. Using Earle's data as a benchmark more patients in this study received and began new chemotherapy at the EOL. Patients were also more likely to present to the emergency room (ER) and be admitted to the hospital. While more patients were admitted to hospice before death, the length of stay (LOS) in hospice was shorter and many patients still died in acute care hospitals. Conclusions: This study supports the finding that current cancer care is aggressive with many patients receiving chemotherapy at the EOL and having a short LOS in hospice. [Table: see text] No significant financial relationships to disclose.