Assessing Unmet Needs, Quality of Life, and Financial Toxicity in Lung Cancer Survivors

Regardless of the stage at diagnosis or treatment types, lung cancer survivors have unmet emotional, social, and physical needs and experience decreased quality of life (QOL) and high financial toxicity (FT). Results of a cross-sectional survey to assess these unmet needs as well as QOL and FT in survivors of NSCLC alive more than 1 year from diagnosis were presented at the ESMO Congress 2023.

The researchers’ survey consisted of an adapted needs survey, the Comprehensive Score for FT, and the lung cancer-specific QOL questionnaires EORTC-QLQ and EORTC-QLQ-LC13. They obtained demographic and clinical information retrospectively by chart review. There were a total of 232 surveys among lung cancer survivors, of whom the median age was 69 years and most were female (62%), married (71%), Caucasian (74%), and had stage III/IV lung cancer (60%).

Results showed that previous/current smoking history (P=.042) and ECOG performance status of 1 or ≥2 (compared with 0; P<.0001) were each independently associated with decreased QOL. The researchers also found that income <$30,000 or $30,000 to $75,000 (compared with >$75,000; P<.0001) and history of radiation therapy (P=.023) were independently associated with increased FT. Other results showed that higher total unmet needs was associated with lower QOL (P<.0001) and increased FT (P=.0003). Greater unmet physical (P=.023), social (P=.008), and medical (P=.007) needs were associated with decreased QOL, and greater social needs were associated with increased FT (P<.0001).

The researchers concluded that unmet needs across multiple domains are associated with worse QOL and FT in lung cancer survivors. “Identifying specific modifiable unmet needs, such as patient symptoms, care coordination, or tobacco cessation, [is] needed to help identify interventions. Future studies with targeted interventions to address these unmet needs may improve QOL and FT in lung cancer survivors.”

Source: Feliciano J. Unmet needs, quality of life, and financial toxicity in survivors of lung cancer. Abstract of a poster presented at the ESMO Congress 2023; October 20-24, 2023; Madrid, Spain.