Real-World Evidence Study on PD-L1 Testing and Use of Immuno-Oncology (IO) Treatments Among Cancer Patients in the Helsinki and Uusimaa (HUS) Region, Finland
Author(s)
Juhani Aakko, DSc, Samuli Tuominen, MSc, Mariann Lassenius, PhD, Essi Havula, PhD.
Medaffcon Oy, Espoo, Finland.
Medaffcon Oy, Espoo, Finland.
OBJECTIVES: How the recent advances in genetic testing and the introduction of IO-treatments in several cancers have been implemented in the clinical care has not been described in Finland. This real-world evidence study aimed to define the changes in the coverage of PD-L1 testing and the use of IO-treatments over time among cancer patients in the Helsinki and Uusimaa region (HUS) region, Finland.
METHODS: The electronic health records (EHRs) of all patients with an ICD-10 diagnosis for cancer (C*) were collected from the HUS region (1.6 million inhabitants, 30% of the Finnish population). A total of 144 000 incident patients were identified between 2015-2023. The collected data included diagnoses, contacts, contact types, pathology, genetic mutations, in-hospital treatments, prescriptions, radiology, deaths, ECOG, smoking status and metastases. The cancers with the highest amount of PD-L1 testing were identified, and the use of IO-treatments among these patients was defined from EHRs. The IO-treatments included nivolumab, pembrolizumab, durvalumab, avelumab, atezolizumab, cemiplimab, dostarlimab, ipilimumab and tremelimumab.
RESULTS: PD-L1 testing was most frequently done in patients with melanoma, colorectal, lung, breast, kidney and bladder cancer. Of these, testing was most frequent in lung cancer, where 29.6% of the patients were tested during the study period. The second was bladder cancer, with only 1.6% of the patients being tested. IO-treatments were most commonly used among lung cancer patients (7.4%), but also a notable proportion of kidney cancer (5.3%), melanoma (4.6%), and bladder cancer (2.8%) patients received IO-treatment.
CONCLUSIONS: In this study, which is part of the Collaboration Research (CORE) dataset of Medaffcon, we show the frequency of PD-L1 testing and use of IO-treatments in HUS region, Finland. Both PD-L1 testing and use of IO-treatments were most common among lung cancer patients. We also show a notable increase in both PD-L1 testing and use of IO-treatments over time.
METHODS: The electronic health records (EHRs) of all patients with an ICD-10 diagnosis for cancer (C*) were collected from the HUS region (1.6 million inhabitants, 30% of the Finnish population). A total of 144 000 incident patients were identified between 2015-2023. The collected data included diagnoses, contacts, contact types, pathology, genetic mutations, in-hospital treatments, prescriptions, radiology, deaths, ECOG, smoking status and metastases. The cancers with the highest amount of PD-L1 testing were identified, and the use of IO-treatments among these patients was defined from EHRs. The IO-treatments included nivolumab, pembrolizumab, durvalumab, avelumab, atezolizumab, cemiplimab, dostarlimab, ipilimumab and tremelimumab.
RESULTS: PD-L1 testing was most frequently done in patients with melanoma, colorectal, lung, breast, kidney and bladder cancer. Of these, testing was most frequent in lung cancer, where 29.6% of the patients were tested during the study period. The second was bladder cancer, with only 1.6% of the patients being tested. IO-treatments were most commonly used among lung cancer patients (7.4%), but also a notable proportion of kidney cancer (5.3%), melanoma (4.6%), and bladder cancer (2.8%) patients received IO-treatment.
CONCLUSIONS: In this study, which is part of the Collaboration Research (CORE) dataset of Medaffcon, we show the frequency of PD-L1 testing and use of IO-treatments in HUS region, Finland. Both PD-L1 testing and use of IO-treatments were most common among lung cancer patients. We also show a notable increase in both PD-L1 testing and use of IO-treatments over time.
Conference/Value in Health Info
2025-11, ISPOR Europe 2025, Glasgow, Scotland
Value in Health, Volume 28, Issue S2
Code
RWD157
Topic
Real World Data & Information Systems
Disease
No Additional Disease & Conditions/Specialized Treatment Areas, Oncology