Long-Term Survival in Patients With Advanced Melanoma.

IMPORTANCE: Long-term survival data from clinical trials show that survival curves of patients with advanced melanoma treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) gradually reach a plateau, suggesting that patients have a chance of achieving long-term survival. OBJECTIVE: To investigate long-term survival in patients with advanced melanoma treated with ICIs outside clinical trials. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Cohort study using prospectively collected data from the nationwide Dutch Melanoma Treatment Registry, including patients in the Netherlands with advanced melanoma treated with first-line ICIs from 2012 to 2019. Data were analyzed from January to September 2023. EXPOSURES: Patients were treated with first-line ipilimumab-nivolumab, antibodies that target programmed cell death (anti-PD-1), or ipilimumab. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Progression-free survival (PFS) and melanoma-specific survival were analyzed, and a Cox proportional hazards model was used to investigate factors associated with PFS after reaching partial response (PR) or complete response (CR). RESULTS: A total of 2490 patients treated with first-line ICIs were included (median [IQR] age, 65.0 [55.3-73.0] years; 1561 male patients [62.7%]). Most patients had an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status of 1 or lower (2202 patients [88.5%]) and normal lactate dehydrogenase levels (1715 patients [68.9%]). PFS for all patients was 23.4% (95% CI, 21.7%-25.2%) after 3 years and 19.7% (95% CI, 18.0%-21.4%) after 5 years. Overall survival for all patients was 44.0% (95% CI, 42.1%-46.1%) after 3 years and 35.9% (95% CI, 33.9%-38.0%) after 5 years. Patients with metastases in 3 or more organ sites had a significantly higher hazard of progression after reaching PR or CR (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.37; 95% CI, 1.11-1.69). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: This cohort study of patients with advanced melanoma treated with ICIs in clinical practice showed that their survival reached a plateau, comparable with patients participating in clinical trials. These findings can be used in daily clinical practice to guide long-term surveillance strategies and inform both physicians and patients regarding long-term treatment outcomes.

Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes and immune-related adverse events in advanced melanoma.

Background: The predictive value of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) in immune-related adverse event (irAE) development remains unknown, although an association between tumor immunogenicity and irAEs has been suggested. We investigated the association between TIL abundance in pretreatment primary and metastasis specimens and the subsequent development of severe irAEs. Patients and methods: We retrospectively identified patients with advanced cutaneous melanoma who received first-line anti-programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) with or without anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte associated protein 4 (anti-CTLA-4) from 10 hospitals in the Netherlands. TILs were scored on representative hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stains of the primary melanoma and pretreatment melanoma metastasis as 'absent', 'nonbrisk', or 'brisk'. A univariable logistic regression analysis was carried out to assess the association between the TIL scores and the development of severe irAEs. Fine and Gray subdistribution hazard models were used to estimate the cumulative incidence of severe irAEs. Results: Of the 1346 eligible patients, 536 patients had primary melanoma specimens available, and 613 patients had metastasis specimens available. Severe irAEs occurred in 15% of anti-PD-1-treated patients and 49% of anti-PD-1 + anti-CTLA-4-treated patients. The presence of TILs was not associated with the occurrence of grade ≥3 irAEs in primary melanoma specimens (P = 0.70) nor pretreatment metastasis specimens (P = 0.91). In the univariable analysis, patients with brisk TILs did not have a higher chance of developing severe irAEs compared with patients with absent TILs, for both primary specimen (odds ratio 1.15, 95% confidence interval 0.60-2.18) and metastasis specimen (odds ratio 0.77, 95% confidence interval 0.37-1.59). There was also no significant difference in the lifetime risk or timing of the development of severe irAEs in patients with TILs present compared with patients with TILs absent. Conclusion: There was no association between the TIL scores on H&E-stained slides from the primary melanoma or pretreatment metastasis and the development of grade 3 or higher irAEs. Additionally, no correlation was found between the presence of TILs and the timing of irAEs.

Safe Stop IPI-NIVO trial: early discontinuation of nivolumab upon achieving a complete or partial response in patients with irresectable stage III or metastatic melanoma treated with first-line ipilimumab-nivolumab - study protocol.

BACKGROUND: Patients with irresectable stage III or metastatic melanoma presenting with poor prognostic factors are usually treated with a combination of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), consisting of ipilimumab and nivolumab. This combination therapy is associated with severe immune related adverse events (irAEs) in about 60% of patients. In current clinical practice, patients are usually treated with ICIs for up to two years or until disease progression or the occurrence of unacceptable AEs. The incidence of irAEs gradually increases with duration of treatment. While durable tumour responses have been observed after early discontinuation of treatment, no consensus has been reached on optimal treatment duration. The objective of the Safe Stop IPI-NIVO trial is to evaluate whether early discontinuation of ICIs is safe in patients with irresectable stage III or metastatic melanoma who are treated with combination therapy. METHODS: The Safe Stop IPI-NIVO trial is a nationwide, multicentre, prospective, single-arm, interventional study in the Netherlands. A total of 80 patients with irresectable stage III or metastatic melanoma who are treated with combination therapy of ipilimumab-nivolumab and have a complete or partial response (CR/PR) according to RECIST v1.1 will be included to early discontinue maintenance therapy with anti-PD-1. The primary endpoint is the rate of ongoing response at 12 months after start of ICI. Secondary endpoints include ongoing response at 24 months, disease control at different time points, melanoma specific and overall survival, the incidence of irAEs and health-related quality of life. DISCUSSION: From a medical, healthcare and economic perspective, overtreatment should be prevented and shorter treatment duration of ICIs is preferred. If early discontinuation of ICIs is safe for patients who are treated with the combination of ipilimumab-nivolumab, the treatment duration of nivolumab could be shortened in patients with a favourable tumour response. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT05652673, registration date: 08-12-2022.

A conceptual framework for cautious escalation of anticancer treatment: How to optimize overall benefit and obviate the need for de-escalation trials.

BACKGROUND: The developmental workflow of the currently performed phase 1, 2 and 3 cancer trial stages lacks essential information required for the determination of the optimal efficacy threshold of new anticancer regimens. Due to this there is a serious risk of overdosing and/or treating for an unnecessary long time, leading to excess toxicity and a higher financial burden for society. But often post-approval de-escalation trials for dose-optimization and treatment de-intensification are not performed due to failing resources and time. Therefore, the developmental workflow needs to be restructured toward cautious systemic cancer treatment escalation, in order to guarantee optimal efficacy and sustainability. METHODS: In this manuscript we discuss opportunities to produce the information needed for cautious escalation, based on models of cancer growth and cancer kill kinetics as well as exploratory biomarkers, for the purpose of designing the optimal phase 3 superiority trial. Subsequently, we compare the sample size needed for a phase 3 superiority trial, followed by a necessary de-escalation trial with the sample size needed for a multi-arm phase 3 trial with intervention arms of differing intensity. All essential items are structured within a Framework for Cautious Escalation (FCE). The discussion uses illustrations from the breast cancer setting, but aims to be applicable for all cancers. RESULTS: The FCE is a promising model of clinical development in oncology to prevent overtreatment and associated issues, especially with regard to the number of repetitive treatment cycles. It will hopefully increase the relevance and success rate of clinical trials, to deliver improved patient-centric outcomes.

Seasonal variation of anti-PD-1 outcome in melanoma-Results from a Dutch patient cohort.

Despite the improved survival rates of patients with advanced stage melanoma since the introduction of ICIs, many patients do not have (long-term) benefit from these treatments. There is evidence that the exposome, an accumulation of host-extrinsic factors including environmental influences, could impact ICI response. Recently, a survival benefit was observed in patients with BRAF wild-type melanoma living in Denmark who initiated immunotherapy in summer as compared to winter. As the Netherlands lies in close geographical proximity to Denmark and has comparable seasonal differences, a Dutch validation cohort was established using data from our nationwide melanoma registry. In this study, we did not observe a similar seasonal difference in overall survival and are therefore unable to confirm the Danish findings. Validation of either the Dutch or Danish findings in (combined) patient cohorts from other countries would be necessary to determine whether this host-extrinsic factor influences the response to ICI-treatment.

Health-state utilities in long-term advanced melanoma survivors comparable with the general population.

BACKGROUND: Checkpoint inhibitors have been shown to substantially improve the survival of patients with advanced melanoma. With this growing group of survivors treated with immunotherapies, assessing their health-state utilities is essential and can be used for the calculation of quality-adjusted life years and for cost-effectiveness analyses. Therefore, we evaluated the health-state utilities in long-term advanced melanoma survivors. METHODS: Health-state utilities were evaluated in a cohort of advanced melanoma survivors 24-36 months (N = 37) and 36-plus months (N = 47) post-ipilimumab monotherapy. In addition, the health-state utilities of the 24-36 months survivor group were assessed longitudinally, and utilities of the combined survival groups (N = 84) were compared with a matched control population (N = 168). The EQ-5D was used to generate health-state utility values, and quality-of-life questionnaires were used to establish correlations and influencing factors of utility scores. RESULTS: Health-state utility scores were similar between the 24-36 months'- and the 36-plus months' survival group (0.81 vs 0.86; p = .22). In survivors, lower utility scores were associated with symptoms of depression (ß = - .82, p = .022) and fatigue burden (ß = - .29, p = .007). Utility scores did not significantly change after 24-36 months of survival, and the utilities of survivors were comparable to the matched control population (0.84 vs 0.87; p = .07). DISCUSSION: Our results show that long-term advanced melanoma survivors treated with ipilimumab monotherapy experience relatively stable and high health-state utility scores.

Perception of prognosis and health-related quality of life in patients with advanced cancer: results of a multicentre observational study (eQuiPe).

PURPOSE: To assess perception of prognosis in patients with advanced cancer, its association with patient's characteristics and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). METHODS: In a multicentre observational cohort study (eQuiPe), conducted on patients with advanced cancer, perceived prognosis, coping strategies, and HRQoL were assessed. Clinical data were obtained from the Netherlands Cancer Registry. Patients with vs. without a perception of prognosis, patients who perceived their prognosis as limited (< 1 year) vs. longer (> 1 year), and patients who did not want to know their prognosis vs. those who did not know for other reasons were compared. RESULTS: Of 1000 patients with advanced cancer, 29% perceived their prognosis as > 1 year, 13% < 1 year, and 4% non-life threatening. Thirty-six percent did not know their prognosis and another 15% did not want to know. Patients without a perception were older, lower educated, coped differently (less accepting, planning, active; more denial), and received treatment more often (p < 0.05). Global QoL was lower in patients with vs. without a perceived prognosis (66 (SD21) vs. 69 (SD19), p = 0.01), specifically in patients who perceived a limited rather than a longer prognosis (57 (SD22) vs. 70 (SD19), p < 0.01). Global QoL of patients who did not want to know their prognosis was comparable to patients who did not know for other reasons (71 (SD19) vs. 69 (SD19), p = 0.22). CONCLUSION: More than half of the patients with advanced cancer have no perception of their prognosis. Patients with a perceived prognosis have lower HRQoL, but only in patients who perceived their prognosis as limited (< 1 year) and were probably closer to the end of life, which more likely determines their poorer HRQoL, rather than prognostic perception. Ignorance of prognosis is not associated with lower HRQoL, however, should not hamper appropriate palliative care.

Survival of sentinel node biopsy versus observation in intermediate-thickness melanoma: A Dutch population-based study.

BACKGROUND: The Multicenter Selective Lymphadenectomy Trial (MSLT-1) comparing survival after a sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) versus nodal observation in melanoma patients did not show a significant benefit favoring SLNB. However, in subgroup analyses melanoma-specific survival among patients with nodal metastases seemed better. AIM: To evaluate the association of performing a SLNB with overall survival in intermediate thickness melanoma patients in a Dutch population-based daily clinical setting. METHODS: Survival, excess mortality adjusted for age, gender, Breslow-thickness, ulceration, histological subtype, location, co-morbidity and socioeconomic status were calculated in a population of 1,989 patients diagnosed with malignant cutaneous melanoma (1.2-3.5 mm) on the trunk or limb between 2000-2016 in ten hospitals in the South East area, The Netherlands. RESULTS: A SLNB was performed in 51% of the patients (n = 1008). Ten-year overall survival after SLNB was 75% (95%CI, 71%-78%) compared to 61% (95%CI 57%-64%) following observation. After adjustment for risk factors, a lower risk on death (HR = 0.80, 95%CI 0.66-0.96) was found after SLNB compared to observation only. CONCLUSIONS: SLNB in patients with intermediate-thickness melanoma on trunk or limb resulted in a 14% absolute and significant 10-year survival difference compared to those without SLNB.

Early discontinuation of PD-1 blockade upon achieving a complete or partial response in patients with advanced melanoma: the multicentre prospective Safe Stop trial.

BACKGROUND: The introduction of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) blockers (i.e. nivolumab and pembrolizumab) has significantly improved the prognosis of patients with advanced melanoma. However, the long treatment duration (i.e. two years or longer) has a high impact on patients and healthcare systems in terms of (severe) toxicity, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), resource use, and healthcare costs. While durable tumour responses have been observed and PD-1 blockade is discontinued on an individual basis, no consensus has been reached on the optimal treatment duration. The objective of the Safe Stop trial is to evaluate whether early discontinuation of first-line PD-1 blockade is safe in patients with advanced and metastatic melanoma who achieve a radiological response. METHODS: The Safe Stop trial is a nationwide, multicentre, prospective, single-arm, interventional study in the Netherlands. A total of 200 patients with advanced and metastatic cutaneous melanoma and a confirmed complete response (CR) or partial response (PR) according to response evaluation criteria in solid tumours (RECIST) v1.1 will be included to early discontinue first-line monotherapy with nivolumab or pembrolizumab. The primary objective is the rate of ongoing responses at 24 months after discontinuation of PD-1 blockade. Secondary objectives include best overall and duration of response, need and outcome of rechallenge with PD-1 blockade, and changes in (serious) adverse events and HRQoL. The impact of treatment discontinuation on healthcare resource use, productivity losses, and hours of informal care will also be assessed. Results will be compared to those from patients with CR or PR who completed 24 months of treatment with PD-1 blockade and had an ongoing response at treatment discontinuation. It is hypothesised that it is safe to early stop first-line nivolumab or pembrolizumab at confirmed tumour response while improving HRQoL and reducing costs. DISCUSSION: From a patient, healthcare, and economic perspective, shorter treatment duration is preferred and overtreatment should be prevented. If early discontinuation of first-line PD-1 blockade appears to be safe, early discontinuation of PD-1 blockade may be implemented as the standard of care in a selected group of patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The Safe Stop trial has been registered in the Netherlands Trial Register (NTR), Trial NL7293 (old NTR ID: 7502), https://www.trialregister.nl/trial/7293 . Date of registration September 30, 2018.

Health-related quality of life of long-term advanced melanoma survivors treated with anti-CTLA-4 immune checkpoint inhibition compared to matched controls.

BACKGROUND: Checkpoint inhibitors have changed overall survival for patients with advanced melanoma. However, there is a lack of data on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of long-term advanced melanoma survivors, years after treatment. Therefore, we evaluated HRQoL in long-term advanced melanoma survivors and compared the study outcomes with matched controls without cancer. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Ipilimumab-treated advanced melanoma survivors without evidence of disease and without subsequent systemic therapy for a minimum of two years following last administration of ipilimumab were eligible for this study. The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer quality of life questionnaire Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30), the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory (MFI), the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Melanoma questionnaire (FACT-M) were administered. Controls were individually matched for age, gender, and educational status. Outcomes of survivors and controls were compared using generalized estimating equations, and differences were interpreted as clinically relevant according to published guidelines. RESULTS: A total of 89 survivors and 265 controls were analyzed in this study. After a median follow-up of 39 (range, 17-121) months, survivors scored significantly lower on physical (83.7 vs. 89.8, difference (diff) = -5.80, p=.005), role (83.5 vs. 90, diff = -5.97, p=.02), cognitive (83.7 vs. 91.9, diff = -8.05, p=.001), and social functioning (86.5 vs. 95.1, diff = -8.49, p= <.001) and had a higher symptom burden of fatigue (23.0 vs. 15.5, diff = 7.48, p=.004), dyspnea (13.3 vs. 6.7, diff = 6.47 p=.02), diarrhea (7.9 vs. 4.0, diff = 3.78, p=.04), and financial impact (10.5 vs. 2.5, diff = 8.07, p=.001) than matched controls. Group differences were indicated as clinically relevant. DISCUSSION: Compared to matched controls, long-term advanced melanoma survivors had overall worse functioning scores, more physical symptoms, and financial difficulties. These data may contribute to the development of appropriate survivorship care.

Survival outcomes of patients with advanced melanoma from 2013 to 2017: Results of a nationwide population-based registry.

BACKGROUND: The treatment landscape has completely changed for advanced melanoma. We report survival outcomes and the differential impact of prognostic factors over time in daily clinical practice. METHODS: From a Dutch nationwide population-based registry, patients with advanced melanoma diagnosed from 2013 to 2017 were analysed (n = 3616). Because the proportional hazards assumption was violated, a multivariable Cox model restricted to the first 6 months and a multivariable landmark Cox model from 6 to 48 months were used to assess overall survival (OS) of cases without missing values. The 2017 cohort was excluded from this analysis because of the short follow-up time. RESULTS: Median OS of the 2013 and 2016 cohort was 11.7 months (95% confidence interval [CI]: 10.4-13.5) and 17.7 months (95% CI: 14.9-19.8), respectively. Compared with the 2013 cohort, the 2016 cohort had superior survival in the Cox model from 0 to 6 months (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.55 [95% CI: 0.43-0.72]) and in the Cox model from 6 to 48 months (HR = 0.68 [95% CI: 0.57-0.83]). Elevated lactate dehydrogenase levels, distant metastases in ≥3 organ sites, brain and liver metastasis and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance score of ≥1 had stronger association with inferior survival from 0 to 6 months than from 6 to 48 months. BRAF-mutated melanoma had superior survival in the first 6 months (HR = 0.50 [95% CI: 0.42-0.59]). CONCLUSION(S): Prognosis for advanced melanoma in the Netherlands has improved from 2013 to 2016. Prognostic importance of most evaluated factors was higher in the first 6 months after diagnosis. BRAF-mutated melanoma was only associated with superior survival in the first 6 months.

Painful and non-painful chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy and quality of life in colorectal cancer survivors: results from the population-based PROFILES registry.

PURPOSE: This study aims to (1) examine the prevalence of painful versus non-painful chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) among long-term colorectal cancer (CRC) survivors, (2) identify sociodemographic, clinical, and psychological factors associated with painful and non-painful CIPN, and (3) examine the associations of painful CIPN with health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in comparison with non-painful CIPN, i.e., numbness/tingling. METHODS: All CRC survivors diagnosed between 2000 and 2009 as registered by the population-based Netherlands Cancer Registry (Eindhoven region) were eligible for participation. Chemotherapy-treated survivors (n = 477) completed questions on CIPN (EORTC QLQ-CIPN20) and HRQoL (EORTC QLQ-C30). RESULTS: Painful CIPN was reported by 9% (n = 45) of survivors and non-painful CIPN was reported by 22% (n = 103). Time since diagnosis was related to painful CIPN, and time since diagnosis, a higher disease stage, osteoarthritis, and more anxiety symptoms were related to non-painful CIPN. Finally, survivors with painful CIPN reported a worse global quality of life and worse physical, role, cognitive, and social functioning compared to survivors with non-painful CIPN and those without any sensory CIPN. No differences were found between survivors with non-painful CIPN and those without sensory CIPN. CONCLUSIONS: It seems that painful CIPN must be distinguished from non-painful CIPN, as only painful CIPN was related to a worse HRQoL. Future research is needed to examine whether painful CIPN must be distinguished from non-painful CIPN regarding predictors, mechanisms, and treatment.

Multicenter randomized controlled trial to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of frozen gloves for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy.

BACKGROUND: This study investigated the efficacy and tolerability of wearing frozen gloves (FGs) during chemotherapy to prevent chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) as reported by patients and influence on quality of life (QoL). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Cancer patients starting treatment with oxaliplatin, docetaxel or paclitaxel between February 2013 and May 2016 at the medical oncology department were eligible. Patients were randomized into groups wearing FGs on both hands during treatment and those not wearing FGs during treatment. Self-reported CIPN and QoL were measured with the European Organisation for the Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life (EORTC QLQ) CIPN20 and QLQ-C30 at four time points: baseline (t0), after three cycles (t1), end of chemotherapy (t2) and after 6 months (t3). RESULTS: The study included 180 patients with 90 patients in both arms. They mostly underwent treatment of colorectal or breast cancer. Thirty-one patients (34%) discontinued FGs, mainly due to discomfort. Intention-to-treat analyses showed no important differences in reported EORTC QLQ CIPN20 subscales between the FG group and control group; however, the analyses showed the patients experienced reduced tingling in fingers/hands [ß = -10.20, 95% confidence interval (CI) = -3.94 to -3.14, P = 0.005] and less trouble opening a jar or bottle due to loss of strength in hands (ß = -6.97, 95% CI = -13.53 to -0.40, P = 0.04) in the FG group compared with the control group. Per-protocol analyses showed similar results: reduced aching or burning pain in fingers/hands (ß = -4.37, 95% CI = -7.90 to -0.83, P = 0.02) and cramps in hands (ß = -3.76, 95% CI = -7.38 to -0.14, P = 0.04). Differences in tingling in fingers/hands at t1 were clinically relevant. In addition, those treated with FGs reported overall better QoL (ß = 4.79, 95% CI = 0.37 to 9.22, P = 0.03) and physical functioning (ß = 5.66, 95% CI = 1.59 to 9.73, P = 0.007) than the control. No difference in dose reductions was observed. CONCLUSIONS: No difference in CIPN subscales was reported between intervention arms. Wearing FGs might reduce some neuropathy symptoms in the hands, potentially resulting in a better QoL; however, one-third of the FG group discontinued the study before the end of treatment. Future studies should focus on the method of limb hypothermia to prevent CIPN. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NL39650.015.12.

Bevacizumab for metachronous metastatic colorectal cancer: a reflection of community based practice.

BACKGROUND: Although the efficacy of bevacizumab has been established in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC), population-based studies are needed to gain insight into the actual implementation of bevacizumab in daily practice. Since these studies are lacking for patients with metachronous metastases, the aim of this study is to evaluate the current role of bevacizumab in the treatment of metachronous metastases of CRC. METHODS: Data on the use of bevacizumab as palliative treatment of metachronous metastases were collected for patients diagnosed with M0 CRC between 2003 and 2008 in the Eindhoven Cancer Registry (n = 361). Median follow up was 5.3 years. RESULTS: One hundred eighty-five patients received bevacizumab in addition to first-line palliative chemotherapy (51%), ranging from 36% to 80% between hospitals of diagnosis (p < 0.0001). Combined cytostatic regimens (CAPOX/FOLFOX in 97%) were prescribed in the majority of patients (63%) and were associated with a higher odds for additional treatment with bevacizumab than single-agent cytostatic regimens (OR 9.9, 95% CI 5.51-18.00). Median overall survival (OS) rates were 21.6 and 13.9 months with and without the addition of bevacizumab to palliative systemic treatment respectively (p < 0.0001). The addition of bevacizumab to palliative chemotherapy was associated with a reduced hazard ratio for death (HR 0.6, 95% CI 0.45-0.73) after adjustment for patient- and tumor characteristics and the prescribed chemotherapeutic regimen. CONCLUSION: Bevacizumab is adopted as a therapeutic option for metachronous metastasized CRC mainly in addition to first-line oxaliplatin-based regimens, and was associated with a reduced risk of death. The presence of inter-hospital differences in the prescription of bevacizumab reflected important differences in attitude and policies in clinical practice. Ongoing efforts should be made to further define the position of targeted agents in the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer.

Chemotherapy-induced neuropathy in multiple myeloma: influence on quality of life and development of a questionnaire to compose common toxicity criteria grading for use in daily clinical practice.

PURPOSE: Chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) may negatively influence multiple myeloma (MM) patients' health-related quality of life (HRQOL). Dose modification is the only way to minimize CIPN. To measure CIPN in daily practice, the Indication for Common Toxicity Criteria (CTC) Grading of Peripheral Neuropathy Questionnaire (ICPNQ) was developed which can be completed within five minutes by the patient. The aims of this study were to (1) perform a psychometric evaluation of the ICPNQ and (2) examine the prevalence of CIPN and its influence on HRQOL in population-based MM patients. METHODS: One hundred fifty-six MM patients, diagnosed between 2000 and 2014, completed the ICPNQ, European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy 20 (EORTC QLQ-CIPN20), and EORTC QLQ-C30 (65 % response). RESULTS: The psychometric analyses showed a Cronbach's alpha of 0.84, 0.74, and 0.61 for, respectively, the sensory, motoric, and autonomic subscales of the ICPNQ. Test-retest reliability and construct validity were good for all subscales. Overall, 65 % of patients reported grade 2-3 neuropathy according to the ICPNQ. Patients with the highest CTC grades (grade 2 with neuropathic pain and grade 3 (38 %)) according to the ICPNQ reported significantly worse scores on all EORTC QLQ-CIPN20 subscales compared to patients with lower CTC grades (p ≤ 0.002). In addition, they reported statistically significant and clinically relevant worse HRQOL scores on almost all EORTC QLQ-C30 subscales. CONCLUSIONS: CIPN is a common side effect in MM patients, which has a negative impact on HRQOL. The ICPNQ is a valid instrument to distinguish the highest CIPN CTC grades from the lower CTC grades necessary to decide on dose modifications of chemotherapy in daily clinical practice.

[Starting and stopping palliative tumour treatment: considerations in the context of quality of life and costs]. / Starten en stoppen met palliatieve tumorbehandeling: overwegingen in het kader van kwaliteit van leven en kosten.

Although palliative treatment options are increasing, more emphasis is required on benefits and quality of life, in view of rising costs. Few studies have focused on factors determining decisions regarding treatment choices. The dilemma may involve generally expected patient attitudes such as never giving up on the one hand and limitations in potential and adverse events on the other. WHO performance status, type of cancer and comorbidity influence oncologists' decisions, but many other factors which have not yet been clearly identified may also be involved. Shared decision-making is poorly studied in the palliative setting. Active treatment is most frequently promoted, rather than best supportive care. Patients sometimes feel insufficiently informed. Quality adjusted life years assessment may add to decision-making. Involving palliative care expertise, and collaborating with oncologists and general physicians, may be of value regarding decision-making. Introduction of more objective parameters to outweigh benefits and burden of (maintaining) palliative tumour-directed treatment is required.

Quality of life of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia in the Netherlands: results of a longitudinal multicentre study.

PURPOSE: To describe the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of an unselected population of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) including untreated patients. METHODS: HRQoL was measured by the EORTC QLQ-C30 including the CLL16 module, EQ-5D, and VAS in an observational study over multiple years. All HRQoL measurements per patient were connected and analysed using area under the curve analysis over the entire study duration. The total patient group was compared with the general population, and three groups of CLL patients were described separately, i.e. patients without any active treatment ("watch and wait"), chlorambucil treatment only, and patients with other treatment(s). RESULTS: HRQoL in the total group of CLL patients was compromised when compared with age- and gender-matched norm scores of the general population. CLL patients scored statistically worse on the VAS and utility score of the EQ-5D, all functioning scales of the EORTC QLQ-C30, and the symptoms of fatigue, dyspnoea, sleeping disturbance, appetite loss, and financial difficulties. In untreated patients, the HRQoL was slightly reduced. In all treatment stages, HRQoL was compromised considerably. Patients treated with chlorambucil only scored worse on the EORTC QLQ-C30 than patients who were treated with other treatments with regard to emotional functioning, cognitive functioning, bruises, uncomfortable stomach, and apathy. CONCLUSIONS: CLL patients differ most from the general population on role functioning, fatigue, concerns about future health, and having not enough energy. Once treatment is indicated, HRQoL becomes considerably compromised. This applies to all treatments, including chlorambucil, which is considered to be a mild treatment.