Cancer research and treatment : official journal of Korean Cancer Association
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Historical Article
Changes of End of Life Practices for Cancer Patients and Their Association with Hospice Palliative Care Referral over 2009-2014: A Single Institution Study.
In Korea, hospice palliative care (HPC) provision for cancer patients has increased recently. However, whether end of life (EoL) care practices have improved along with the development of HPC is unclear. We intended to investigate the changes in EoL care practices and their association with HPC referral. ⋯ During the study period, EoL practices among cancer patients partly changed toward less aggressive in our institution. HPC referral was associated with less aggressive cancer care at the EoL. Policies to promote EoL discussion are necessary to improve the EoL practices of cancer patients.
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Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK), and ROS proto-oncogene 1 (ROS1) are 'must-test' biomarkers in the molecular diagnostics of advanced-stage lung cancer patients. Although single-gene assays are currently considered the gold standard for these genes, next-generation sequencing (NGS) tests are being introduced to clinical practices. We compared the results of current diagnostics and aimed to suggest timely effective guidance for their clinical use. ⋯ Even though the conventional and NGS methods were concordant in the majority of cases, NGS testing still revealed a considerable number of additional EGFR, ALK, and ROS1 alterations, as well as other targetable alterations, in Korean advanced-stage lung cancer patients. Given the high frequency of EGFR and other targetable mutations identified in the present study, NGS testing is highly recommended in the diagnosis of Korean lung cancer patients.