June 7, 2022 – Results from the second phase of the broad, collaborative MYLUNG ConsortiumTM research study in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) were presented by The US Oncology Network (The Network), US Oncology Research and Ontada® at the 2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting. The findings show that the incorporation of a remote oncology pharmacist in clinical research teams significantly enhanced patient enrollment for Protocol 2 of the MYLUNG Consortium.
“Advances in science are quickly enabling new treatment opportunities, but timely enrollment into clinical trials continues to be a challenge,” said Elizabeth Koselke, PharmD, senior clinical pharmacist for The Network. “Our study showed that by incorporating an oncology-trained clinical pharmacist to remotely review chemotherapy regimens and a customized recruitment report, we were able to more efficiently screen patients and significantly enhance Protocol 2 enrollment.”
Koselke presented the findings during an oral presentation at ASCO titled, “Impact of oncology clinical pharmacist intervention on clinical trial enrollment in The US Oncology Network ’s MYLUNG Consortium.”
In the study, oncology-trained clinical pharmacists reviewed over an eight-month period 506 newly diagnosed and untreated NSCLC patients from six practices in The Network. Working remotely, the pharmacist reviewed chemotherapy regimen orders and identified, screened and assisted with recruitment of eligible patients for enrollment in MYLUNG Consortium Protocol 2. Working remotely enabled the pharmacists to identify patients quickly across the country who were potential candidates for the study. Enrollments and intervention data were then tracked to monitor the impact of the pharmacist intervention. The study showed that average monthly enrollment was significantly greater after pharmacist intervention (6.6 patients a month per practice) when compared to monthly enrollment before pharmacist intervention (3.4 patients a month per practice).
An additional study at ASCO 2022 took a further look at the MYLUNG Consortium Protocol 1 results that were first presented at ASCO 2021. These initial findings reported that fewer than 50 percent of metastatic non-small cell lung cancer patients had the recommended biomarker tests.
In a poster presentation titled, “Predictors of biomarker testing among patients (pts) with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (mNSCLC),” MYLUNG Consortium researchers examined the social and economic factors associated with biomarker undertesting. The research found that lower comprehensive biomarker testing rates were associated with patients who were of the African American race, seen in a smaller practice size or in a practice in the southern part of the United States, or had squamous cell histology.
The MYLUNG Consortium is a collaborative and innovative research study comprised of three protocols over a five-year period, enabled through a unique collaboration of various organizations and stakeholders working together across the spectrum of NSCLC drug development, therapy and care. The number of consortium participants continues to grow, bringing unique perspectives to this innovative study.