Clinician perceptions of care difficulty and quality of life for lung cancer patients: Results from the ECOG SOAPP study (E2Z02).

Abstract

9102 Background: Emerging evidence suggests that lung cancer patients experience disparities in medical care compared to other cancer patients. This may be due to providers' perceptions that lung cancer patients are more difficult to care for and have a poorer quality of life (QOL). Methods: Participants included clinicians treating breast (n = 1543), colorectal (n = 717), prostate (n = 320), and lung (n = 522) cancer patients enrolled in the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) study of Symptom Outcomes and Practice Patterns (SOAPP; Protocol E2Z02). Data included clinicians' written responses to questions about patient QOL and difficulty of care. Analyses focused on repeated measures (baseline and 28-35 day follow-up) analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) with planned comparisons for reports of lung cancer v. other cancer (breast, prostate, and colorectal) patients. Results: After controlling for relevant patient factors (sex, race/ethnicity, current status/stage of disease, metastatic sites, performance status, weight loss, current treatment, number of moderate/severe symptoms) and institution type, clinicians reported greater difficulty in care for lung cancer patients compared to other cancer patients (p < .01). After adding patients' baseline reports of QOL as a covariate (in addition to the above factors), clinicians also estimated a lower QOL for lung cancer patients (p < .001). Conclusions: Even after controlling for a number of relevant patient and disease factors, clinicians reported higher difficulty of care and lower QOL for lung cancer patients compared to patients with other common solid tumors. These data generate the hypothesis that providers have more pessimistic attitudes about lung cancer care, which could lead to disparities in treatment. Further research is needed to confirm these findings and explore potential explanations for these clinician perceptions related to lung cancer patients. No significant financial relationships to disclose.