Online Tool that Helps Guide Choice of First-line and Maintenance Therapy for Patients with Advanced Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) May Improve Patient Outcomes

RESTON, Va., Sept. 11, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Clinical Care Options (CCO) announced that a poster presentation titled: Development and Utilization of an Online Tool to Guide Choice of First-line and Maintenance Therapy for Patients With Advanced Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) will be presented this week during the 2012 Chicago Multidisciplinary Symposium in Thoracic Oncology in Chicago, IL. This online decision-support tool provides physicians with expert recommendations on first-line and maintenance therapy for NSCLC based upon specific patient and tumor characteristics.

The study demonstrated that the tool was effective in supporting clinician decision making:

• 23% of clinicians changed their treatment choice after using the tool
• 50% indicated that the tool served to confirm their treatment choice

To develop the tool, 5 experts chose treatment for 96 case variations based on permutations of specific variables including tumor histology, mutation status, age, performance score (PS), and smoking history. The tool was then built around these recommendations and published in March 2012 at clinicaloptions.com/AdvancedNSCLC. Development of a related CME-certified program which included the tool was supported by educational grants from Genentech and Pfizer. 

In the tool, users are prompted to select tumor and patient characteristics and primary patient desires and then indicate their chosen NSCLC therapy. The relevant treatment choices from the 5 experts are then displayed to users. Subsequently, users were asked if these expert choices affected their own choice of therapy.

The study is significant because, historically, guidelines list multiple possible first-line and maintenance therapy choices for patients with NSCLC. However, guidelines are less useful for selecting therapy for an individual patient with NSCLC. The online tool allowed users to identify expert recommendations more closely matched to their patient.

"With the growing number of treatment options and factors for individualizing treatment there is a clear need for tools to support the decision making process in NSCLC and many other cancers," said Dr. David R Gandara, MD, first author of the poster and Professor of Clinical Medicine at University of California Davis Cancer Center in Davis, California. "This study's findings indicate that such online tools can affect clinicians' treatment decisions and may improve patient care."

The online tool may be accessed at: clinicaloptions.com/AdvancedNSCLC

About Clinical Care Options
Clinical Care Options is a leader in the development of continuing education and decision support resources for healthcare professionals. Known for its innovative programs and proprietary technology, the company creates original continuing medical education and information resources designed specifically for healthcare providers in the areas of HIV, hepatology, and hematology/oncology. Educational programs encompass a spectrum of interactive online and live formats that provide the latest scientific information and facilitate its application by healthcare professionals. The company's online clinical decision support resource, inPractice®, brings this knowledge to the point of care by translating and distilling the constant stream of new information into practical guidance readily available in the clinical setting. 

For more information about the company and its programs, visit clinicaloptions.com.

SOURCE Clinical Care Options