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Aim: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third most common cancer in Australia, and survival after diagnosis of metastatic disease is improving. Our aim was to assess trends in epidemiology, treatment, molecular testing and survival in patients with metastatic CRC (mCRC). Methods: Clinical data from February 2013 to December 2018 was recorded in a prospective, observational, multicenter cohort study conducted in Queensland, Australia, examining clinical and molecular biomarkers in cases of mCRC. Results: A total of 159 patients who had metastasis diagnosed after February 2013 were included in survival analysis. Median age at diagnosis was 63.9 years, but 29% had early‐onset disease (diagnosis aged <50 years). Median overall survival was 2.5 years (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.2–3.0) for the 159 patients included in survival analysis. Independent factors correlated with poor prognosis included right‐sided primary tumor, neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio >5, increased alkaline phosphatase level (ALP) and an increasing number of sites of metastatic disease. In contrast, metastasectomy was associated with improved overall survival (adjusted HR = 0.29' 95% CI, 0.16–0.54), with similar survival between patients who had liver and non‐liver metastasectomy sites. Half (10/20) of the BRAF mutant CRC were also microsatellite unstable. The proportion of detected mutations amongst tested samples increased over time for Kirsten Rat Sarcoma (KRAS; OR [per year] = 1.19; 95% CI, 1.01–1.39). Concurrently, the methods of molecular genetics testing employed in routine clinical practice changed towards the adoption of next‐generation sequencing. Conclusions: Metastasectomy in mCRC may be beneficial regardless of the anatomical site of metastasis. The adoption of next‐generation sequencing techniques for molecular genetics testing coincided with a slightly increased rate of detection of KRAS and BRAF mutations, potentially reflecting greater test sensitivity. Further translational research is required in mCRC to define novel targets for treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Background: Emerging evidence on the optimal use of chemotherapy and biologics in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer should impact management in routine care. Recent studies have demonstrated benefits for initial triplet chemotherapy (5‐fluorouracil, oxaliplatin and irinotecan, FOLFOXIRI) and for initial treatment with an epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor (EGFRi) in patients with a RAS wild‐type tumour and a left‐sided primary tumour. Aim: To explore evolving pattern of metastatic colorectal cancer care over time in Australia. Methods: We analysed data from the Treatment of Recurrent and Advanced Colorectal Cancer registry. Results: From July 2009 to December 2017, 2552 metastatic colorectal cancer patients were entered into the Treatment of Recurrent and Advanced Colorectal Cancer registry. Of 1585 patients who initially underwent chemotherapy, treatment was with a doublet in 76%. FOLFOXIRI was given to 22 patients (1.4%), mostly young patients and those with potentially resectable disease. Along with first‐line chemotherapy, 61% received bevacizumab, while 3.3% received an EGFRi, predominantly over the last 2 years. Within the KRAS wild‐type left‐sided tumour cohort, EGFRi use increased from 9% in 2015 to 37% in 2017. Across treatment sites, there was a wide variation in the utilisation of FOLFOXIRI and EGFRi therapy; bevacizumab use was more consistent. A clear impact on survival outcomes from these regimens is not evident, potentially due to multiple confounders. Conclusion: Doublet chemotherapy + bevacizumab remains the dominant initial strategy, with limited uptake of triplet chemotherapy and of EGFRi. Potential explanations include uncertainty about the significance of post hoc analyses for EGFRi and concerns regarding adverse events for both strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Abstract: Aim: Palliative chemotherapy improves symptom control and prolongs survival in patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer, but there is a paucity of data describing its use and effectiveness in everyday practice. We explored patterns of chemotherapy use in patients with unresected pancreatic cancer in Australia and the impact of use on survival. Methods: We reviewed the medical records of residents of New South Wales or Queensland, Australia, diagnosed with unresectable pancreatic adenocarcinoma between July 2009 and June 2011. Associations between receipt of chemotherapy and sociodemographic, clinical and health service factors were evaluated using logistic regression. We used Cox proportional hazards models to analyze associations between chemotherapy use and survival. Results: Data were collected for 1173 eligible patients. Chemotherapy was received by 44% (n = 184/414) of patients with localized pancreatic cancer and 53% (n = 406/759) of patients with metastases. Chemotherapy receipt depended on clinical factors, such as performance status and comorbidity burden, and nonclinical factors, such as age, place of residence, multidisciplinary team review and the type of specialist first encountered. Consultation with an oncologist mitigated most of the sociodemographic and service‐related disparities in chemotherapy use. The receipt of chemotherapy was associated with prolonged survival in patients with inoperable pancreatic cancer, including after adjusting for common prognostic factors. Conclusions: These findings highlight the need to establish referral pathways to ensure that all patients have the opportunity to discuss treatment options with a medical oncologist. This is particularly relevant for health care systems covering areas with a geographically dispersed population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Introduction: This article outlines the current Australian multidisciplinary treatment of synchronous metastatic colorectal adenocarcinoma and assesses the factors that influence patient outcome. Methods: This is a retrospective analysis of the prospective ‘Treatment of Recurrent and Advanced Colorectal Cancer’ registry, describing the patient treatment pathway and documenting the extent of disease, resection of the colorectal primary and metastases, chemotherapy and biological therapy use. Cox regression models for progression‐free and overall survival were constructed with a comprehensive set of clinical variables. Analysis was intentionn‐ton‐treat, quantifying the effect of treatment intent decided at the multidisciplinary team meeting (MDT). Results: One thousand one hundred and nine patients presented with synchronous metastatic disease between July 2009 and November 2015. Median follow‐up was 15.8 months; 4.4% (group 1) had already curative resections of primary and metastases prior to MDT, 22.2% (group 2) were considered curative but were referred to MDT for opinion and/or medical oncology treatment prior to resection and 70.2% were considered palliative at MDT (group 3). Overall, 83% received chemotherapy, 55% had their primary resected and 23% had their metastases resected; 13% of resections were synchronous, 20% were staged with primary resected first and 62% had only the colorectal primary managed surgically. Performance status, metastasis resection (R0 versus R1 versus R2 versus no resection), resection of the colorectal primary and treatment intent determined at MDT were the most significant factors for progression‐free and overall survival. Conclusions: This is the largest Australian series of synchronous metastatic colorectal adenocarcinoma and offers insight into the nature and utility of contemporary practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Aim Metastatic colorectal cancer has a large burden of disease in Australia. Medical therapy is fundamental to extending survival and improving quality of life. The benefits of two costly medicines, bevacizumab and cetuximab, used in Australia remain unclear. The aim of this study was to retrospectively examine the use of these two medicines in metastatic colorectal cancer across five public hospitals in south east Queensland and to compare clinical outcomes to those of published clinical trials. Methods We extracted data from the chemotherapy prescribing database for patients planned for bevacizumab or cetuximab therapy between 2009 and 2013. Median overall survival was estimated using Kaplan-Meier methods. Results There were 490 bevacizumab-containing protocols planned and 292 patients received at least one dose of bevacizumab. Median overall survival was 17.2 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 15.4-19.3). Of 208 planned cetuximab-containing protocols, 134 patients received at least one dose of cetuximab. Median overall survival was 9.1 months (95% CI, 7.6-12.0). Thirty-day mortality rates from date of first dose were 0.7% for bevacizumab and 7.5% for cetuximab. Conclusion Overall survival of patients receiving bevacizumab and cetuximab was consistent with clinical trials, providing some assurance that benefits seen in trials are observed in usual practice. This study provides a methodology of using routinely collected health data for clinical monitoring and research. Because of the high cost of these medicines and the lack of toxicity data in this study, further analysis in the postmarketing setting should be explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Aims Defining multidisciplinary quality of care indicators ( QCIs) for metastatic colorectal cancer (m CRC) could improve understanding of variations in routine practice care. This may identify areas of below-average performance, which could then be addressed by clinicians to improve the quality of care delivered. This study aimed to define a panel of QCIs in m CRC and, based on these QCIs, to evaluate quality of care across multiple Australian sites. Methods A panel of clinicians with expertise in colorectal cancer defined evidence-based or best practice-based QCIs relevant to the routine multidisciplinary management of m CRC patients through structured consensus discussion. Related data were extracted from the Treatment of Recurrent and Advanced Colorectal Cancer ( TRACC) registry, a prospectively maintained database recording comprehensive details on consecutive m CRC patients across multiple Australian hospitals. Variations in QCIs across sites were explored. Results Of 13 QCIs defined, data related to 10 were reliably extracted from TRACC. Analysis of data on 1276 patients across 10 sites demonstrated low rates of screening for hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer in young patients and significant variation in surveillance-detected recurrences, lung resection rates and palliative chemotherapy use. Exploratory analyses suggested correlation between liver resection rates and survival. Conclusions We have defined a novel set of m CRC QCIs and have demonstrated wide variation in the quality of care of m CRC across multiple Australian sites. With further validation to confirm a direct correlation between QCI and patient outcomes, these QCIs could be applied to improve the quality of care received by all m CRC patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Aim To carry out a nationwide study of KRAS testing in metastatic colorectal cancer as reported by nine major molecular pathology service providers in Australia, including mutation frequencies and turnaround times that might impact on patient care. Methods Participating laboratories contributed information on KRAS mutation frequencies, including the G13 D mutation type, as well as turnaround times for tumor block retrieval and testing. Results The KRAS mutation frequency observed by nine different test sites for a total of 3688 metastatic colorectal cancers ranged from 34.4% to 40.7%, with an average across all sites of 38.8%. The average frequency of the G13 D mutation type among all cases was 8.0%. The median turnaround time was 17 days (range 0-191), with 20% of cases requiring more than 4 weeks for a KRAS test result. The major contributor to long turnaround times was the time taken to retrieve archived blocks of primary tumor, particularly from sources external to the test site. Conclusion The frequency of KRAS mutations in metastatic colorectal cancer reported by the major Australian test sites is very similar to that reported by other large overseas studies. More widespread introduction of routine testing at the time of initial diagnosis should eliminate the long turnaround times currently being experienced in a significant proportion of cases. Future expansion of testing to include other KRAS and NRAS mutation hotspots may spur the introduction of next-generation sequencing platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

The article presents abstracts on oncology research in Australia topics including rising cost of anti-cancer drugs in, use and cost of chemotherapy in and changes in cancer mortality and incidence.

BACKGROUND. Life expectancy is increasing, and more patients are presenting with cancer at an advanced age (≥80 years). Optimal management for this group of patients has not been well defined. METHODS. The South Australian Clinical Registry for Metastatic Colorectal Cancer (mCRC) collects data on all patients diagnosed since February 2006 in South Australia. The authors examined cancer characteristics, treatments administered, and outcomes for patients aged ≥80 years compared with patients aged <80 years. RESULTS Data from 2314 patients were evaluable, and 29.2% of these patients were aged ≥80 years. The majority had moderately differentiated tumors. Poorly differentiated tumors were reported in fewer patients aged ≥80 years (20.1% vs 26.1%; P < .005). Overall, 28.1% of patients aged ≥80 years received chemotherapy, and 74.2% received single-agent fluoropyrimidines as first-line treatment. By comparison, 68.2% of patients aged <80 years received chemotherapy, 74.3% received combination chemotherapy, and 25.7% received single-agent fluoropyrimidine as first-line treatment. No treatment was received by 38.2% of patients aged ≥80 years compared with 11.4% of those aged <80 years. Participation in clinical trials was lower in patients aged ≥80 years (2% vs 13%). The median survival was worse for patients aged ≥80 years (8.2 months vs 19.2 months; P < .001), and the median survival of patients who received chemotherapy was 19.0 months for those aged ≥80 years and 22.3 months for those aged <80 years ( P = .139). Patients who did not receive treatment had a poor median survival regardless of age (2.6 months for patients aged ≥80 years vs 2.7 months for patients aged <80 years). CONCLUSIONS. Patients aged ≥80 years were less likely to receive intervention for their metastatic colorectal cancer and had poorer survival. The survival of selected patients aged ≥80 years who received chemotherapy was similar to the survival of those aged <80 years despite the receipt of single-agent therapy. Patients aged ≥80 years with metastatic colorectal cancer are less likely to receive intervention for their disease and have poorer survival. Survival for selected patients aged ≥80 years who receive chemotherapy is similar to the survival of patients aged <80 years despite the receipt of single-agent therapy. Cancer 2013. © 2012 American Cancer Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

Background Where proven cancer therapies remain unfunded, patients are faced with difficult decisions regarding personally covering some or all of the treatment cost. Clinical trials provide an alternative form of access to unfunded drugs. Aims To examine the patient population and utilisation of the colorectal cancer cetuximab Interim Access Programme ( IAP) in Australia. Methods We retrospectively analysed de-identified data collected as part of the costsharing colorectal cancer cetuximab IAP in Australia, which extended from June 2005 until November 2009. The impact of the CO20 clinical trial that opened in early 2008 and provided free access to cetuximab was also examined. Results Eight hundred and fifty-eight patients received ≥1 treatment on the IAP. The median age of participants was lower than the general colorectal cancer population (61 vs 71 years). A greater uptake by males was limited to patients over 65 years old. Socioeconomic status correlated with programme enrolment, and there appeared to be lower uptake among regional patients. The majority (93%) of patients received combination treatment with irinotecan, with a trend towards increasing use of single-agent cetuximab over time. The median time-on-treatment was longer in patients treated with combination therapy than with monotherapy (12 vs 8 weeks). The CO20 trial had minimal impact on IAP enrolment and approximately doubled the number of Australian patients receiving cetuximab. Conclusions Patients' age and gender in older patients impacted on participation in the IAP. Both the IAP and the CO20 trial contributed to a substantial proportion of Australian patients accessing an unfunded treatment, with an estimated 50% of the eligible patient population receiving cetuximab. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] more...

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "Treatment With Unfunded Drugs in Oncology: the Impact of Access Programmes and Clinical Trials," by J. Tie and colleagues, published in a 2013 issue. more...