Attitudes and practices of immune checkpoint inhibitors in Chinese patients with cancer: A national cross-sectional survey
- 1Xinqiao Hospital, China
- 2Qianfoshan Hospital, Shandong University, China
- 3Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, China
- 4Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China
- 5Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, School of Medicine, Tongji University, China
- 6First Affiliated Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, China
- 7Henan Provincial Cancer Hospital, China
- 8960th Hospital of the PLA, China
Immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are revolutionizing the field of immuno-oncology. Side effects and tumor microenvironment currently represent the most significant obstacles to using ICIs. In this study, we conducted an extensive cross-sectional survey to investigate the concept and practices regarding the use of ICIs in cancer patients in China. The results provide real-world data on the adverse events (AEs) of ICIs and the factors influencing the use of ICIs. This survey was developed by the Expert Committee on Immuno-Oncology of the Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology (CSCO-IO) and the Expert Committee on Patient Education of the Chinese Society of Clinical Oncology (CSCO-PE). The surveys were distributed using a web-based platform between 11-29-2019 and 12-21-2019. A total of 1575 patients were included. High costs (43.9%), uncertainty about drug efficacy (41.2%), and no reimbursement from medical insurance (32.4%) were the factors that prevented the patients from using ICIs. The patients were most concerned about the onset time or effective duration of ICIs (40.3%), followed by the indications of ICIs and pre-use evaluation (33.4%). Moreover, 9.0%, 57.1%, 21.0%, and 12.9% of the patients reported tumor disappearance, tumor volume reduction, no change in tumor volume, and increased tumor volume. Among the patients who received ICIs, 65.7% reported immune-related AEs (irAEs); 96.1% reported mild-to-moderate irAEs. Cancer patients in China had a preliminary understanding of ICIs. Yet, the number of patients treated with ICIs was small.
Keywords: Immunotherapy, adverse effects, Attitude, Practice, Survey
Received: 17 Jul 2020;
Accepted: 26 Jan 2021.
Copyright: © 2021 Zhang, Wang, Zhang, Chu, Su, Wu, Wang, Wang, Yin, Zhu and Sun. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Mx. Jianguo Sun, Xinqiao Hospital, Chongqing, China, sunjg09@aliyun.com
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