No abstract

Aim: Polypharmacy (PP) is a common problem among the older adults and has a potential effect on health-related problems. However, the significance of PP in older advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients and those on oral moleculartargeted anticancer agents is unclear. Methods: This retrospective study reviewed the records of 334 advanced NSCLC patients who underwent epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor (EGFR-TKI) treatment. PP was defined as >=5 concomitant medications. Potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) use was measured using the updated screening tool of older people's prescriptions (STOPP) ver. 2 criteria. We also estimated survival distributions using the Kaplan-Meier method, compared between-group differences using the log-rank test, explored potential predictors of survival using Cox regression, and performed cluster analysis to identify factors affecting multiple-medication use. Results: The PP and PIM use prevalence was 38.4% and 31.9%, respectively. The median overall survival (OS) for PP(+) and PP(-) patients was 19.4 months (95% CI = 14.1-24.8) and 27.3 months (95% CI = 22.6-36.4), respectively (P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed a significant correlation between PP and OS. The frequency of unexpected hospitalization during EGFR-TKI treatment was higher in PP(+) compared to PP(-) patients (49.4% vs. 29.4%; P = 0.0032; OR = 2.34; 95% CI = 1.31-4.23). Conclusion: PP is an independent prognostic factor in older NSCLC patients taking EGFR-TKIs. PP can be used as a simple indicator of such patients' comorbidities and symptoms or as a predictive marker of unexpected hospitalization during treatment.

Background: With the recent development of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), the use of ICIs for managing postoperative recurrence of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is increasing. In this study, we retrospectively examined the postoperative recurrence cases of NSCLC where nivolumab was used for treatment and evaluated the prognostic factors.Methods: Patients who received nivolumab monotherapy for postoperative recurrence of NSCLC from March 2016 to September 2020 in our department were included in this study. Information on age, sex, performance status (PS) at the time of administration, histological type, recurrence type, presence/absence of adverse events, number of administrations, and outcomes was retrieved from the medical records and analyzed retrospectively. The survival was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and comparisons between groups were performed using the log-rank method.