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Background Management of non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is affected by regional specificities. The present study aimed at determining diagnostic and therapeutic procedures including outcome of patients with NSCLC stage III in the real-world setting in Central European countries to define areas for improvements. Patients and methods This multicentre, prospective and non-interventional study collected data of patients with NSCLC stage III in a web-based registry and analysed them centrally. Results Between March 2014 and March 2017, patients (n=583) with the following characteristics were entered: 32% females, 7% never-smokers; ECOG performance status (PS) 0, 1, 2 and 3 in 25%, 58%, 12% and 5%, respectively; 21% prior weight loss; 53% squamous carcinoma, 38% adenocarcinoma; 10% EGFR mutations. Staging procedures included chest X-ray (97% of patients), chest CT (96%), PET-CT (27%), brain imaging (20%), bronchoscopy (89%), endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS) (13%) and CT-guided biopsy (9%). Stages IIIA/IIIB were diagnosed in 55%/45% of patients, respectively. N2/N3 nodes were diagnosed in 60%/23% and pathologically confirmed in 29% of patients. Most patients (56%) were treated by combined modalities. Surgery plus chemotherapy was administered to 20%, definitive chemoradiotherapy to 34%, chemotherapy only to 26%, radiotherapy only to 12% and best supportive care (BSC) to 5% of patients. Median survival and progression-free survival times were 16.8 (15.3;18.5) and 11.2 (10.2;12.2) months, respectively. Stage IIIA, female gender, no weight loss, pathological mediastinal lymph node verification, surgery and combined modality therapy were associated with longer survival. Conclusions The real-world study demonstrated a broad heterogeneity in the management o f stage III NSCLC in Central European countries and suggested to increase the rates of PET-CT imaging, brain imaging and invasive mediastinal staging.

Background: There is a steady decline in cancer mortality in Western Europe (WE), but this trend is not so obvious in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). One of the largest discrepancies between WE and CEE is the level of investment in cancer care. The objective of our analysis was to examine the correlation between mortality-to-incidence (M/I) ratio and expenditures on oncology drugs in CEE and WE., Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional analysis was done on publicly available data. Data on expenditures for oncology drugs were obtained from QuintilesIMS, and data on M/I ratio from Globocan. The main outcome was mortality-to-incidence ratio, and the primary analysis was performed by Spearman's rank correlation., Results: There is a large discrepancy in expenditure on oncology drugs per cancer case between WE and CEE, and within CEE. Average expenditure on oncology drugs per capita as well as per new cancer case was 2.5 times higher in WE than in CEE. Availability of oncology drugs was highest in Germany (100%), relatively similar in WE (average of 91%), but in CEE it ranged from 37% to 86%, with an average of 70%. Annual expenditures on all oncology drugs per new cancer case was significantly negatively correlated with the M/I ratio (Spearman's ρ = -0.90, p < .001)., Conclusion: There is a financial threshold for oncology drugs per cancer case needed to increase survival. Based on significantly lower expenditures for oncology drugs in CEE in comparison with WE, more investment for drugs as well as better, more organized, value- oriented consumption is needed., Implications for Practice: Cancer is not treated equally successfully in Western Europe (WE) and in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). This study showed that success in treatment of cancer is associated with the amount of money invested in oncology drugs. CEE countries spend on average 2.5 times less than WE countries for oncology drugs per new cancer case. These findings should be used by health care providers and oncologists struggling for more resources and better, more organized, evidence-based allocation of these resources as well as better oncology outcomes., Competing Interests: Disclosures of potential conflicts of interest may be found at the end of this article., (© AlphaMed Press 2018.)