Dr. James Stevenson on Standardized Care Pathways for NSCLC Treatment

James Stevenson, MD, medical oncologist, Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Institute (TCI), discusses the impact of a stage IV non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) care pathway on front-line and maintenance chemotherapy.

At the Cleveland Clinic, as well as at other similar cancer centers, treatment for frontline NSCLC varies significantly from patient to patient and treating oncologist to oncologist, says Stevenson.

His team of thoracic oncologists determined that the most effective and least toxic frontline treatment regimen for NSCLC was pemetrexed and carboplatinum and the most effective maintenance regimen was pemetrexed. This information was then communicated across the institution and to all affiliated regional sites.

Data confirmed that within six months of this standardized care pathway being implemented, 86% of patients were being treated with the preferred regimen of pemetrexed and carboplatinum. Prior to the creation of this care pathway different regimens were given at 20-30% rates.