[French national standard for the treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of upper aero-digestive tract - General principles of treatment]

OBJECTIVES

The management of upper aerodigestive tract cancers is a complex specialty. It is essential to provide an update to establish optimal care. At the initiative of the INCa and under the auspices of the SFORL, the scientific committee, led by Professor Béatrix Barry, Dr. Gilles Dolivet, and Dr. Dominique De Raucourt, decided to develop a reference framework aimed at defining, in a scientific and consensus-based manner, the general principles of treatment for upper aerodigestive tract cancers applicable to all sub-locations.

METHODOLOGY

To develop this framework, a multidisciplinary team of practitioners was formed. A systematic analysis of the literature was conducted to produce recommendations classified by grades, in accordance with the standards of the French National Authority for Health (HAS).

RESULTS

The grading of recommendations according to HAS standards has allowed the establishment of a reference for patient care based on several criteria. In this framework, patients benefit from differentiated care based on prognostic factors they present (age, comorbidities, TNM status, HPV status, etc.), conditions of implementation, and quality criteria for indicated surgery (operability, resectability, margin quality, mutilation, salvage surgery), as well as quality criteria for radiotherapy (target volume, implementation time, etc.). The role of medical and postoperative treatments was also evaluated based on specific criteria. Finally, supportive care must be organized from the beginning and throughout the patients' care journey.

CONCLUSION

All collected data have led to the development of a comprehensive framework aimed at harmonizing practices nationally, facilitating decision-making in multidisciplinary consultation meetings, promoting equality in practices, and providing a state-of-the-art and reference practices for assessing the quality of care. This new framework is intended to be updated every 5 years to best reflect the latest advances in the field.

Association of COVID-19 Lockdown With the Tumor Burden in Patients With Newly Diagnosed Metastatic Colorectal Cancer

IMPORTANCE

The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with substantial reduction in screening, case identification, and hospital referrals among patients with cancer. However, no study has quantitatively examined the implications of this correlation for cancer patient management.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the association of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown with the tumor burden of patients who were diagnosed with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) before vs after lockdown.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS

This cohort study analyzed participants in the screening procedure of the PANIRINOX (Phase II Randomized Study Comparing FOLFIRINOX + Panitumumab vs FOLFOX + Panitumumab in Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Patients Stratified by RAS Status from Circulating DNA Analysis) phase 2 randomized clinical trial. These newly diagnosed patients received care at 1 of 18 different clinical centers in France and were recruited before or after the lockdown was enacted in France in the spring of 2020. Patients underwent a blood-sampling screening procedure to identify their RAS and BRAF tumor status.

EXPOSURES

mCRC.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

Circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) analysis was used to identify RAS and BRAF status. Tumor burden was evaluated by the total plasma ctDNA concentration. The median ctDNA concentration was compared in patients who underwent screening before (November 11, 2019, to March 9, 2020) vs after (May 14 to September 3, 2020) lockdown and in patients who were included from the start of the PANIRINOX study.

RESULTS

A total of 80 patients were included, of whom 40 underwent screening before and 40 others underwent screening after the first COVID-19 lockdown in France. These patients included 48 men (60.0%) and 32 women (40.0%) and had a median (range) age of 62 (37-77) years. The median ctDNA concentration was statistically higher in patients who were newly diagnosed after lockdown compared with those who were diagnosed before lockdown (119.2 ng/mL vs 17.3 ng/mL; P < .001). Patients with mCRC and high ctDNA concentration had lower median survival compared with those with lower concentration (14.7 [95% CI, 8.8-18.0] months vs 20.0 [95% CI, 14.1-32.0] months). This finding points to the potential adverse consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and related lockdown.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

This cohort study found that tumor burden differed between patients who received an mCRC diagnosis before vs after the first COVID-19 lockdown in France. The findings of this study suggest that CRC is a major area for intervention to minimize pandemic-associated delays in screening, diagnosis, and treatment.

How to improve the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting? The French NAVI study

PURPOSE

Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) still remain frequent. The procedure for announcing the diagnosis (PAD) was an emblematic measure of the first French Plan Cancer aiming at providing patients with time to listen, information after cancer diagnosis, and discussion on treatments and their side effects. We aimed at assessing the risk factors of CINV, focusing on patients' satisfaction with the PAD.

METHODS

This prospective multicentre study assessed the frequency and intensity of CINV among chemonaïve patients during the first cycle of treatment. CINV was defined by ≥1 emetic episode or reported nausea intensity ≥3 on a 0-10 scale. Multivariate analysis was used to identify factors related to global CINV onset including satisfaction with the PAD (satisfaction score ≥the median on a 0-10 scale).

RESULTS

Data from 291 patients (women, 85.2%; mean age, 57 years) were analyzed. Most patients (69.4%) received highly emetogenic chemotherapy regimens and 77.7% received antiemetic drugs consistent with international guidelines. Acute, delayed and overall CINV were experienced by 40.4, 34.8 and 52.4% of patients, respectively. Sixty-seven per cent of patients were satisfied with the PAD. No relation was noted between PAD satisfaction and CINV onset. The nausea and vomiting dimension of the QLQ-C30 questionnaire before chemotherapy (OR 3.62), motion sickness history (OR 2.73), highly emetogenic CT (OR 2.73), anxiety (OR 1.99) and younger age (OR 1.96) were independent predictive factors.

CONCLUSIONS

Although patients were mostly satisfied with the PAD, half of them experienced CINV. A state of anxiety could be identified during the PAD to be managed.