Observational Prospective Study to Determine the Evolution of the Symptomatic Profile of Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) Patients and Its Relation to the Control of the Disease.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the evolution of disease-related symptoms and its relationship with the control of the disease in first-line treatment in patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

METHODS

This was an observational, prospective, national and multicentre study with two visits in which the following were collected: (1) baseline visit: sociodemographic and clinical variables (2) visit after completing the 4-6 chemotherapy cycles: criteria for ending treatment, control of the disease and clinical variables. Ad hoc questionnaires were collected to assess the frequency of symptoms (evaluated by the patient), and quality-of-life questionnaires to assess the intensity of symptoms (using the Lung Cancer Symptom Scale, LCSS), and interference in the patient's daily life, assessed by the patient and by the investigator.

RESULTS

A total of 155 patients were included. Patients predominantly described tiredness (24.1%) and pain (23.9%) as the symptoms that appeared "frequently or continuously". A statistically significant decrease in scores for symptoms of cough (15.4 points), dyspnoea (8.5 points), pain (9.5 points) and discomfort related to their illness (9 points) was observed between visits. Patients who achieved a complete or partial response showed a statistically significant reduction in the cough, dyspnoea, pain and disconfort frequency. Regarding the intensity, cough was the only symptom that showed  a statistically significant decrease for both the patient and the investigator. Tiredness/asthenia and pain were the symptoms with the greatest interference in daily life at baseline according to the patient; however, according to the investigator, they were mood and quality/quantity of sleep, although none of them were significant. But changes in the score of the interference questionnaire between visits were not statistically significantly related to the control of the disease. However, average score according to both investigator and patients showed a significant correlation with ECOG status.

CONCLUSION

The first-line treatment of NSCLC is correlated with an improvement in the symptomatic evolution of advanced NSCLC patients.

FUNDING: Roche.