Purpose: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of practicing medical oncologists in the United States to obtain insight into physician and patient treatment decision making in stage III non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Methods: A convenience sample of 150 oncologists completed a 38-question Web-based survey in January 2019.
Results: Surveyed oncologists (82% community based) had an average of 15 years of clinical experience and had treated an average of 20 patients newly diagnosed with stage III NSCLC in the previous 6 months. Oncologists reported presenting 55% of their patients with stage III NSCLC to tumor boards. For patients with new unresectable stage III NSCLC seen in the previous 6 months, concurrent chemoradiation therapy (cCRT) was reported as the initial treatment in an average of 48% of patients. The most frequent reason for delays in starting the initial chosen treatment was insurance preauthorization processes (reported by 65% of oncologists). A total of 55% of all patients with unresectable stage III NSCLC who received cCRT went on to receive consolidation immunotherapy; for patients who received consolidation chemotherapy after cCRT, the rate of immunotherapy was lower (42%). Biomarker test results were given as the reason for oncologists not recommending immunotherapy after cCRT in approximately a quarter of cases. The 112 oncologists with eligible patients who declined immunotherapy reported previous treatment fatigue as the reason in 34% of patients and insurance challenges in 19% of patients.
Conclusion: Oncologists reported notable deviations from treatment guidelines for stage III NSCLC. Our findings highlight important opportunities to improve decision making and the coordination of care in stage III NSCLC.