Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a common cancer with high mortality. Immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has an important role in its treatment, but its effectiveness varies from patient to patient. Factors that influence the effectiveness of ICI include the use of proton pump inhibitors (PPIs). The aim of the study was to investigate PPI prescribing patterns in patients with advanced NSCLC treated with ICIs at the University Clinic Golnik and evaluate PPI treatment adherence during ICI therapy and the duration of PPI treatment.
We conducted a retrospective observational study that included NSCLC patients treated with ICIs at the University Clinic Golnik from July 2015 to December 2021. Data were analyzed using Excel, SPSS, and the R programming language, including the AdhereR package. PPI prescriptions were recorded within the observation window, i.e., from 30 days before the start of ICI treatment until the last ICI dose. Patients were divided into as those with no PPIs, those with PPIs prescribed within 30 days before or after ICI initiation (PPI ⡤ 30), and those with PPIs prescribed after day 31 post-ICI initiation (PPI ⡥ 31). Adherence was assessed by the proportion of days covered (PDC), and duration was assessed using the Kaplan-Meier method.
Off the 290 patients, only 27.9 % were without PPIs (n = 81), 55.5 % were in the PPI ⡤ 30 group (n = 161), and 16.6 % were in the PPI ⡥ 31 group (n = 48). The majority of patients in both the PPI ⡤ 30 and PPI ⡥ 31 groups (72.7 % and 79.2 %, respectively) started treatment with pantoprazole, with most (53.4 % in the PPI ⡤ 30 and 66.7 % in the PPI ⡥ 31 group) receiving a double dose according to comparable doses in the PPI therapeutic group. Patients had access to PPIs, as indicated by PDC, on average 70.5 % and 31.9 % of the observation window for PPI ⡤ 30 and PPI ⡥ 31 patients, respectively, with a median duration of PPI treatment of 119 days and 60 days, respectively. A minority of patients in both the PPI ⡤ 30 and PPI ⡥ 31 groups received short-term treatment of up to 60 days (31.1 % in PPI ⡤ 30 patients and 41.7 % in PPI ⡥ 31 patients).
Our study found that NSCLC patients receiving ICIs were prescribed PPIs frequently and for longer periods of time.
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