Table 2.
Receipt of guideline-concordant treatment among patients with lung cancer by clinical subgroup
| Clinical Subgroup | n | Guideline-Concordant Treatment*n (%) | Less Intensive Treatment than Recommended†n (%) | No Treatment n (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | 441,812 | 274,338 (62.1) | 72,155 (16.3) | 95,319 (21.6) |
| L-NSCLC | 117,370 | 89,503 (76.3) | 15,741 (13.4) | 12,126 (10.3) |
| LA-NSCLC | 75,822 | 45,774 (60.4) | 16,412 (21.6) | 13,636 (18.0) |
| A-NSCLC | 182,640 | 92,119 (50.4) | 33,227 (18.2) | 57,294 (31.4) |
| LD-SCLC | 21,218 | 14,765 (69.6) | 3,927 (18.5) | 2,526 (11.9) |
| ED-SCLC | 44,762 | 32,177 (71.9) | 2,848 (6.4) | 9,737 (21.8) |
Definition of abbreviations: A-NSCLC = advanced non–small-cell lung cancer (stage IV); ED-SCLC = extensive disease small-cell lung cancer (stage IV); L-NSCLC = localized non–small-cell lung cancer (stages I–II); LA-NSCLC = locally advanced non–small-cell lung cancer (stage III); LD-SCLC = limited-disease small-cell lung cancer (stages I–III).
Guideline-concordant treatment was defined as the minimal treatment patients should receive according to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines. Hence, additional treatment was allowed beside guideline-concordant treatment. We considered guideline-concordant treatment to be either surgery or stereotactic body radiation therapy for L-NSCLC; either radiotherapy and chemotherapy or surgery and chemotherapy for LA-NSCLC; chemotherapy for A-NSCLC; either radiotherapy and chemotherapy or surgery and chemotherapy for patients with LD-SCLC; and chemotherapy for patients with ED-SCLC.
Less intensive treatment than recommended was defined as treatment that was not guideline concordant.