Procedures
comorbidity, hearing, vision, psychosis, lung cancer, psychiatric
ONCOLOGY, PATHOLOGY, STAGE IV NSCLC, LUNG CANCER
A university institutional review board approved the study and procedures in accordance with ethical standards and the 1964 Helsinki declaration. Inclusion criteria were as follows: newly diagnosed with pathology confirmed stage IV NSCLC (any type); any Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status; any illness/condition comorbidity; age ≥ 18 years; English-speaking; willingness to provide access to medical records, provide biospecimens, and respond to patient reported outcome (PRO) measures. Exclusion criteria were as follows: prior treatment with definitive chemo-radiotherapy for lung cancer; diagnosis >90 days prior to enrollment; receipt of lung cancer treatment for over one month; presence of disabling hearing, vision, or psychiatric conditions (e.g., psychosis) preventing consent or completion of PROs in English. Also excluded were second opinion or consult only cases (patients returning to his/her community physician for treatment).Research personnel completed informed consent face-to-face (verbal, with written materials) during a patient’s first clinic appointment with a thoracic oncologist and written informed consent was obtained and the signature witnessed. Cell count and albumin data for biomarker calculations were retrieved from electronic medical record reports. Lab data on or immediately after the patients’ first visit (mean = 11.82 days) were used. Interviewers from a professional survey center contacted patients by telephone and assessed PROs, for which patients received $15. Study flow is provided (