Endocr Pract. 2023 Aug 22:S1530-891X(23)00527-X. doi: 10.1016/j.eprac.2023.08.005. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: In the last decade, new systemic treatment options have been made available for patients with advanced thyroid cancer. However, little is known about the real-world utilization of these systemic therapies.
METHODS: We used the Optum Clinformatics database to characterize trends in the use of 15 systemic therapies that are available for treatment of advanced thyroid cancer between 2013-2021. Joinpoint regression was used to calculate annual percentage changes (APCs) in use of systemic therapy by patients’ race/ethnicity. Sequence of therapies were determined by date of prescription claims.
RESULTS: Between 2013-2021, the annual number of patients treated for advanced thyroid cancer with systemic therapy increased from 45 patients in 2013 to 114 patients in 2021 (N of total cohort = 885). Most patients were female (54.7%) and non-Hispanic White (62.1%). Between 2013 and 2021, there was a significant decrease in the proportion of non-Hispanic White patients treated for advanced thyroid cancer with systemic therapy (APC -3.9%, 95% CI -6.0% to -1.8%). Since its approval by the FDA in 2015, lenvatinib remains the most frequently prescribed first-line therapy for treatment of radioiodine-refractory thyroid cancer (48.8% of patients between 2017-2021). Between 2017-2021, most patients (79.7%) were initiated on one of the ten FDA-approved agents and 81.7% received only a first-line therapy.
CONCLUSIONS: Between 2013 and 2021, the use of systemic treatment options for advanced thyroid cancer has increased significantly, largely driven by the prescribing of lenvatinib following its approval by the FDA in 2015, with an increasing trend for use in non-White patients.
PMID:37619826 | DOI:10.1016/j.eprac.2023.08.005
