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Background: This study was designed to estimate economic burden of lung cancer in Turkey from payer perspective based on expert panel opinion on practice patterns in clinical practice. Methods: In this cost of illness study, direct medical cost was calculated based on cost items related to outpatient visits, laboratory and radiological tests, hospitalizations/interventions, drug treatment, adverse events and metastasis. Indirect cost was calculated based on lost productivity due to early retirement, morbidity and premature death resulting from the illness, the value of lost productivity due to time spent by family caregivers and cost of formal caregivers. Results: Cost analysis revealed the total per patient annual direct medical cost for small cell lung cancer to be €8772), for non-small-cell lung cancer to be €10,167. Total annual direct medical cost was €497.9 million, total annual indirect medical cost was €1.1 billion and total economic burden of lung cancer was €1.6 billion. Hospitalization/interventions (41%) and indirect costs (68.6%) were the major cost drivers for total direct costs and the overall economic burden of lung cancer, respectively. Conclusions: Our findings indicate per patient direct medical costs of small cell lung cancer and non-small-cell lung cancer to be substantial and comparable, indicating the substantial economic burden of lung cancer in terms of both direct and indirect costs. Our findings indicate that hospitalization/interventions cost item and indirect costs were the major cost drivers for total direct costs and the overall economic burden of lung cancer, respectively. Our findings emphasize the potential role of improved cancer prevention and early diagnosis strategies, by enabling cost savings related to drug treatment and metastasis management cost items, in sustainability of cancer treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

OBJECTIVE Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is the most aggressive type of lung cancer. Platinum-etoposide chemotherapy combination is used as first line treatment. The aim of this trial is evaluate the effect of complete response rates and clinical features in patients with extensive stage (ES) SCLC. METHODS In this retrospective study, a total of 117 patients from four different oncology centers in Turkey between 2011 and 2017 were divided into 2 groups, namely, patients with complete response (group 1) and those with no complete response (group 2) after platin-etoposide combination therapy. RESULTS The median age of the patients was 61 (range 38-81) years.The median follow-up time was 12 months and 95 (81%) patients died. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were estimated, respectively, as 8 and 13 months. Overall survival of group 1 patients was statistically significantly better than the group 2 (16 versus 10 months respectively and p=0.00). The overall survival of patients who had late recurrent disease (>6 mo.) was statistically significantly better than the early ones (<6 mo) (19 versus 14 months respectively and p=0,008). CONCLUSION Complete response and recurrent free time were the prognostic factors for ES SCLC patients in our study [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and lymphocytopenia are markers of poor prognosis in lung cancer patients. The aim of this trial is evaluate the prognostic significance of basal NLR, PLR and lymphocytopenia in patients with extensive stage (ES) small cell lung cancer(SCLC). Materials and Methods: This study was designed as a hospital-based retrospective observational case-series study. A total of 117 patients with extensive stage small cell lung cancer have been treated at four different oncology centers in Turkey between 2011 and 2017. Laboratory results and demographic data were collected. Results: The median follow-up time was 12 months and 95 (81%) patients died. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were estimated, respectively, as 8 and 13 months. 65 (55.6 %) patients had complete response at the end of first line platin-etoposide combination treatment. The cut-off value for NLR and PLR were determined for whole group and patients were dichotomized into high (=3.28) and low (<3.28) NLR groups and high (=139.8) and low (<139.8) PLR groups.. Median OS was lower in patients who had high neutrophil lymphocyte ratio (NLR) (14 versus 12 months respectively). Conclusion: This study showed that basal NLR may have prognostic biological value in patients with ES SCLC treated with cisplatin + etoposide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Of the Study: The purposes of this retrospective study were to identify survival rates for limited stage small cell lung cancer (LD-SCLC) and analyze treatment outcomes and influencing factors on survival.Materials and Methods: We conducted data from patients diagnosed with LD.SCLC between January 1998 and December 2012 at our institution. Dermographic information, treatment modalities, pretreatment clinical asessment, were recorded. Most of the patients. (88.4%) were treated with curative intent. The survival probabilties were asessed by Kaplan.Meier analysis. Cox regression was used to assess prognostic factors on overall survival and disease.free survival.Results: A total of 129 patients were examined as a LD-SCLC. The median age was 60 (range; 31-86). Median follow-up time was 9.4 (SE ± 20.5) months and the median overall survival was 13.9 months [95% cumulative incidence (CI): 10.1-17.6]. On multivariate analysis, concurrent chemotherapy [HZ: 2.7 (95% CI: (1.0-7.2)] (P = 0.037) and doses of radiation therapy (<50, ≥50) [HZ: 1.4 (95% CI: (1.0-2.2)] (P = 0.046) were statistically significant on overall survival. With regard to multivariate anlaysis age (<60, ≥60) [HZ: 2.2 (95% CI: (0.6-3.7)] (P = 0.011), doses of radiation therapy (<50, ≥50) [HZ: 2.7 (95% CI: (1.0-7.2)] (P = 0.046), precense of surgery [HZ: 15.3 (95% CI: (1.5-152)] (P = 0.020), prophilactic cranial radiation therapy (PCI) [HZ: 2.3 (95% CI: (1.1-4.5)] (P = 0.014), and presence of concurrent chemoradiotherapy [HZ: 3.0 (95% CI: (1.3-6.8)] (P = 0.008) were important variable affecting disease-free survival.Conclusion: For LD-SCLC patients concurrent chemoradiation therapy and 50. Gy and over doses radiation therapy provided improvement on overall and disease.free survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to evaluate EGFR (exon 19 deletion, exon 21 L858R point mutation), KRAS and braf mutation rates besides their relationship with survival and response to the treatment in non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We evaluated 513 NSCLC patients followed-up between January 2004 and November 2009 according to our registration data, retrospectively. Only 42 advanced stage NSCLC patients had enough tumor tissue material in paraffin blocks for all mutation analysis. The patients were evaluated retrospectively for clinicopathological features, EGFR, KRAS and BRAF mutations, erlotinib treatment, time to progression (TTP) and overall survival (OS). Mutation rates were as 7.14% (two patients) for EGFR exon 19 deletion; 4.76% (one patient)for KRAS codon 61 deletion and 2.38% for BRAF V600E mutation. They had neither EGFR exon 21 point mutation nor different mutations together. Median follow-up was 26 months (5-83) for all patients. It was 43 months (23-83) for the patients who had erlotinib and 23 months (5-61) for those who did not. Ten (23.8%) patients had erlotinib. There was significant survival difference between the patients taking erlotinib and the others (28 ± 3 months versus 15 ± 4 months, p= 0.05). TTP and OS were longer in the patients who had mutations, however the difference was not significant (p= 0.119 and p= 0.06). To our knowledge, this is the first study evaluating EGFR, KRAS and BRAF mutations in advanced stage NSCLC in Turkey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]