OBJECTIVES: We aimed to describe the real-world characteristics, healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in patients receiving / who received neoadjuvant chemotherapy for resectable non-metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (nmNSCLC).

METHODS: Data were drawn from the Adelphi nmNSCLC Disease Specific Programme™, a cross-sectional survey of physicians (oncologists/pulmonologists/surgeons) in China from September–November 2022. Physicians provided medical information for their next four consulting patients with resectable nmNSCLC and an additional four patients receiving/who received any neoadjuvant and/or adjuvant treatment.

RESULTS: Overall, 50 physicians reported on 170 neoadjuvant patients, of which 53% were treated with chemotherapy only, 24% treated with chemotherapy in combination with another non-chemotherapy agent (of which 73% received immunotherapy, n=30) and 23% with non-chemotherapy regimens. Median age of patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (n=131) was 58.0 years, 63% were male and 50% had squamous cell histology. The top three tests to aid nmNSCLC diagnosis for patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy were blood tests (95%), CT scan (84%) and pulmonary function tests (82%). Patients had a mean of 3.4 hospitalizations (n=106) in the 12 months prior to data collection, with 84% (n=74) spending an average of 6.4 nights hospitalized for their most recent hospitalization. Of patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy, 53% had a caregiver, who was the patient’s partner/spouse in 93% of cases.

Patients who were receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy at the time of data collection (n=65) reported an EQ-5D Visual Analogue Score of 60.6, experiencing moderate to extreme problems doing their usual activities (38%) and anxiety/depression (32%).

CONCLUSIONS: Patients in China in 2022 treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy for their resectable nmNSCLC displayed high rates of HCRU and reported an unmet need for both pain and anxiety/depression. Given the advent of immunotherapy regimens in this setting; this could lead to a decrease in HCRU and patient burden, which warrants further investigation.