Exploring How the New Entrustable Professional Activity Assessment Tools Affect the Quality of Feedback Given to Medical Oncology Residents.

The post-graduate medical programs at Queen's University transitioned to a competency-based medical education framework on July 1, 2017. In advance of this transition, the Medical Oncology program participated in a pilot of six Entrustable Professional Activities (EPAs) focused workplace-based assessment (WBA) tools with faculty and residents. The purpose of this sequential explanatory mixed method study was to determine the extent to which these WBAs provided quality feedback for residents. The WBAs were introduced into daily clinical practice and, once completed, were collected by the research team. A resident focus group (n = 4) and faculty interviews (n = 5) were also conducted. Focus group and interview data were analyzed using an emergent thematic analysis. Data from the completed assessment tools were analyzed using both descriptive statistics and a literature-informed framework developed to assess the quality of feedback. Six main findings emerged: Verbal feedback is preferred over written; providing both written and verbal feedback is important; effective feedback was seen as timely, specific, and actionable; the process was conceptualized as coaching rather than high stakes; there were logistical concerns about the WBAs, and additional clarification about the WBA tools is needed. This study provides insight into faculty and resident perceptions of quality feedback and the potential for WBA tools to assist in providing effective feedback to residents as we shift to competency-based medical education in Canada. Our results suggest the need for additional faculty development around the use of the tools, and their intended role, and the elements of quality feedback.

Safety of Immunotherapy Rechallenge After Immune-related Adverse Events in Patients With Advanced Cancer.

This retrospective study aimed to investigate the safety profile of continuing or rechallenging patients with advanced cancer who developed grade≥2 immune-related adverse events (irAEs) on immunotherapy-based regimens. Our study had 25, 20, and 40 patients (N=85) in the Treatment Continuation (TCG), Non-Rechallenge (NRG), and Rechallenge Groups (RG), respectively. Subsequent irAEs recurrence were more common in RG than TCG and NRG (78% vs. 56% vs. 25%, P<0.001). The same subsequent irAEs recurrences occurred on 42% of RG, 4% of TCG, and 15% of NRG (P<0.001). On the RG, there was a nonstatistical trend of shortening interval time between time from treatment rechallenge to subsequent irAEs when compared with time from first treatment to initial grade≥2 irAEs (5.86 vs. 8.86 wk, P=0.114). Patients who had cardiac irAEs were not rechallenged. Several high-risk features were identified to prognosticate risk of irAEs recurrences upon treatment rechallenge, including age 65 years and above (P=0.007), programmed cell death protein 1 inhibitors (P<0.001), grade 3 irAEs (P=0.003), pneumonitis type (P=0.048), any systemic corticosteroid use (P=0.001)/high-dose systemic corticosteroid use (P=0.007)/prolonged ≥4-week corticosteroid use (P=0.001) for irAEs management, and early development of irAEs (P=0.003). Our study concluded that it was relatively safe to continue or rechallenge patients with advanced cancers on immunotherapy-based regimens postdevelopment of certain grade≥2 irAEs, except for cardiac, neurological, or any grade 4 irAEs. Subsequent irAEs were common, no more severe, involved the same organ sites, and occurred more quickly than the original irAE. Close monitoring of all potential irAEs is required when rechallenging a patient on immunotherapy, especially for patients with high-risk features.

Serum neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio in prognosticating immunotherapy efficacy.

Aim: To examine neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) in prognosticating immunotherapy efficacy. Methods: A retrospective study of 156 patients with metastatic melanoma and non-small-cell lung cancer on PD-1 inhibitors. Results: Baseline NLR ≥5 was associated with worse progression-free survival (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.53; 95% CI: 1.01-2.31; p = 0.043) but nonsignificant worse overall survival trend (HR: 1.51; 95% CI: 0.98-2.34; p = 0.064). PLR ≥200 was associated with worse overall survival (HR: 1.94; 95% CI: 1.29-2.94; p = 0.002) and worse progression-free survival (HR: 1.894; 95% CI: 1.27-2.82; p = 0.002). NLR or PLR are prognosticating factors regardless of cancer types, with PLR having a stronger association with outcomes than NLR. Conclusion: High baseline NLR or PLR (alone and combined) were associated with worse immunotherapy efficacy regardless of cancer type, indicating their potential role as an agnostic marker for immunotherapy efficacy.

Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor 3 Mutation as a Prognostic Indicator in Patients with Urothelial Carcinoma: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) mutations have been implicated in urothelial tumorigenesis. FGFR3 inhibitors are being explored in clinical trials. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to study the association between FGFR3 mutations and survival in urothelial carcinoma. DESIGN SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: We performed a systematic literature search of PubMed, Cochrane, Ovid, and Web of Science from January 1985 to October 2018. The search terms were as follows: targeted therapies, FGFR and its subtypes, urothelial, bladder, and cancer. We included case-control or cohort studies of FGFR3 mutations in urothelial carcinoma. We included studies reporting hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for outcomes comparing FGFR3 mutations with FGFR3 wild type. Two reviewers performed article selection. OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: We assessed heterogeneity among study-specific HRs using I 2 statistic. We used a random effect model to obtain HR and 95% CI for event-free survival (EFS), composed of recurrence-free and progression-free survival. Statistical tests were two sided. RESULTS AND LIMITATIONS: Eleven studies (seven retrospective and four prospective) comprising 2162 patients were included. Analysis was performed for two groups. The first group included 1651 patients with non-muscle-invasive (NMI) urothelial carcinomas (886 [53.6%] had FGFR3 mutations). Compared with FGFR3 wild type, FGFR3 mutation did not influence EFS (HR = 0.99, CI = 0.77-1.28, p =  0.96). There was no significant heterogeneity (I 2 = 25%). The second group included 511 patients with NMI and muscle-invasive (MI) urothelial carcinomas (151 [30%] had FGFR3 mutations). FGFR3 mutation was not prognostic (HR = 1.54, CI = 0.41-5.81, p =  0.52). There was heterogeneity (I 2 = 91%). CONCLUSIONS: There is no association between FGFR3 mutation and EFS in NMI urothelial carcinoma, and in NMI and MI urothelial carcinoma groups. PATIENT SUMMARY: Fibroblast growth factor receptor 3 (FGFR3) mutation is not associated with a worse survival outcome in urothelial carcinoma. This is important as FGFR inhibitors are emerging as a new treatment option.