Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34991068›Full record

SynthesisJournal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network : JNCCN2022

Representation and Outcomes of Older Adults in Practice-Changing Oncology Trials in the Era of Novel Therapies: A Guideline Appraisal.

Ronald Chow, Daniel E Lage, Grant R Williams, Mina S Sedrak, Joseph A Greer, Jennifer S Temel, Ryan D Nipp

Abstract readMeta-Analysis
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network : JNCCN, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
12citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  6. Review
  7. Article
  8. Management of lung cancer in older adults.Zeitschrift fur Gerontologie und Geriatrie · 2025
    Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Ronald Chow1Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
Daniel E Lage1Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
Grant R Williams2Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama.
Mina S Sedrak3Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research, City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, Duarte, California; and.
Joseph A Greer4Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
Jennifer S Temel1Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
Ryan D Nipp1Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.

Funding

Oncology Research Career Development ProgramK12CA001727 · NCI · CITY OF HOPE NATIONAL MEDICAL CENTER · PI MORTIMER, JOANNE E. · 1992 to 2024
$14.6M
Training in Oncology Population Sciences (TOPS)T32CA092203 · NCI · DANA-FARBER CANCER INST · PI Nancy L Keating, JENNIFER W MACK · 2018 to 2026
$3.7M
Improving Clinical Trial Participation of Older Adults with CancerR03AG064377 · NIA · BECKMAN RESEARCH INSTITUTE/CITY OF HOPE · PI SEDRAK, MINA S · 2019 to 2020
$260k
NCI NIH HHS K12 CA001727NCI NIH HHS T32 CA092203NIA NIH HHS R03 AG064377
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundOlder adults account for 70% of cancer-related deaths, but previous studies have shown that they are underrepresented in cancer clinical trials. We sought to analyze the representation and outcomes of older adults in trials conducted in the era of novel targeted therapy and immunotherapy.

methodsWe searched the 2020 NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology and retrieved trials from the past 10 years leading to category 1 recommendations in the first-line metastatic setting for the 5 most common causes of cancer death. We categorized trials by cancer type, single-agent versus multiagent approach, and therapeutic class. We described the percentage of older adults (according to each trial's definition) and used a Mantel-Haenszel random-effects meta-analysis model to compare overall and progression-free survival by age.

resultsWe identified 30 trials consisting of 24,416 patients. Across all trials, 44% of enrolled patients were older adults. Representation of older adults by cancer type within trials was 49% prostate cancer, 38% pancreatic cancer, 37% breast cancer, and 34% non-small cell lung cancer. Representation of older adults also varied by therapeutic class: 20% received immunotherapy, 44% received cytotoxic chemotherapy, 54% received targeted/hormonal therapy, and 34% received combination therapy (P<.001 for all comparisons). For each year since 2010, the percentage of older adults enrolled in trials increased by 1.9%, although this difference was not significant. We observed no difference in overall or progression-free survival between older and younger adults. In our analysis of practice-changing clinical trials, we found that 44% of clinical trial participants were older adults. Trials that included immunotherapy or a combination of therapeutic classes had a lower representation of older adults (<40%).

conclusionsWe found that >40% of patients in practice-changing trials are older adults. Although they remain underrepresented in clinical trials compared with the general population, older adults in practice-changing trials seem to be better represented than in previously reported analyses of cooperative group trials.

Indexed as

Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell LungLung NeoplasmsAgedAntineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy ProtocolsHumansMaleProgression-Free Survival

Identifiers

PMID34991068
PMCPMC9271368

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.