A Study of Home Administration of Pemetrexed as Maintenance Treatment for Advanced Nonsquamous Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)

The EQ-5D scale was used to provide an estimate of the health state utility in this population. The EQ-5D scale includes a 5-dimensional descriptive system that measures each of the health state attributes: mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression according to a 3-point scale (no problem, some problems, and major problems) and a VAS that allows participants to rate their present health condition from 0 (worst imaginable health state) to 100 (best imaginable health state). The change from baseline in EQ-5D VAS is reported.

The EQ-5D scale was used to provide an estimate of the health state utility in this population. The EQ-5D scale includes a 5-dimensional descriptive system that measures each of the health state attributes: mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression according to a 3-point scale (no problem, some problems, and major problems) and a VAS that allows participants to rate their present health condition from 0 (worst imaginable health state) to 100 (best imaginable health state). The change from baseline EQ-5D Index score is reported and the EQ-5D Index score was calculated by converting health state scores into a weighted health state index according to a United Kingdom population-based algorithm. The possible values for the EQ-5D Index score range from -0.59 (severe problems in all 5 dimensions) to 1.0 (no problem in any dimension), on a scale where 1 represents the best possible health state.

LCSS is a 9-item questionnaire; 6 items are symptom-specific measures for lung cancer (loss of appetite, fatigue, cough, dyspnea, hemoptysis, and pain), and 3 summation items describe overall symptomatic distress, interference with activity level, and overall quality of life during the past 24 hours. Participant responses were measured using a VAS with 100-millimeter (mm) lines. Scores ranged from 0 mm (no symptoms and no impact on activities, quality of life) to 100 mm (symptoms as bad as they could be, impacting activities and quality of life).

Participants were asked to evaluate their hospital experiences in this study by answering 4 questions (Q). Q1: "What do you consider advantages of having chemotherapy at the hospital? Choose all that apply." Choices included: "Support from other patients", "Access to other medical specialists", "Access to more technical services", "Safer in case something goes wrong", and "Other". Q2: "What do you consider disadvantages of having chemotherapy at the hospital? Choose all that apply." Choices included: "Need to travel", "Having to wait for treatment", "Not having a personalized treatment", "Lack of privacy on the ward", and "Other". Q3: "How would you rate your overall satisfaction with chemotherapy at the hospital?" and Q4: "How would you rate your overall satisfaction with the nursing staff during chemotherapy at the hospital?" Choices for Q3 and Q4 included: "Very dissatisfied", "Somewhat dissatisfied", "Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied", "Somewhat satisfied", or "Very satisfied".

Participants were asked to evaluate their home treatment experiences in this study by answering 4 questions (Q). Q5: "What do you do consider advantages of having chemotherapy at home? Choose all that apply." Choices included: "No need to travel", "Not having to wait for treatment", "Personalized service", "More privacy", and "Other". Q6:"What do you consider disadvantages of having chemotherapy at home? Choose all that apply." Choices included: "Lack of other patients' support", "Extra burden for family/friends", "Safety concerns", "Need to rely on 1 medical specialist", and "Other". Q7: "How would you rate your overall satisfaction with chemotherapy at home?" Choices included: "Very dissatisfied", "Somewhat dissatisfied", "Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied", "Somewhat satisfied", or "Very satisfied".

Participants were asked 7 questions (Q) about their study nurse for home treatment. Q8: "Was the nurse an easy person to talk to?", Q9: "When the nurse came, did you feel he/she had enough time to do the required things?", Q10: "Do you think the nurse had time to discuss things with you?", Q11: "Did you feel that the nurse knew enough about you and your illness?" Choices for Q8 through Q11 included: "Yes" or "No". Q12: "Were you able to get all the information you wanted about your illness or treatment?" Choices included: "Yes", "No", or "Uncertain". Q13: "Would you say that the nurse gave…" Choices included: "a lot of reassurance and support", "some reassurance and support", or "hardly any reassurance and support". Q14: "How would you rate your overall satisfaction with the nursing staff during chemotherapy at home?" Choices included: "Very dissatisfied", "Somewhat dissatisfied", "Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied", "Somewhat satisfied", or "Very satisfied".

Participants were asked to evaluate their preferences regarding home and/or hospital treatment delivery in this study by answering 2 questions (Q). Q15: "Do you prefer having your chemotherapy at home or at the hospital, or are you indifferent?" Choices included: "Home", "Hospital", or "Indifferent". Q16: "Would you recommend having chemotherapy at home to someone else in your same situation?" Choices included: "Yes", "No", or "Not sure".

The physician was asked, "How would you rate your overall satisfaction with the distant management of the participant during chemotherapy at home?" Choices included: "Very dissatisfied", "Somewhat dissatisfied", "Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied", "Somewhat satisfied", or "Very satisfied".

The number of participants who had at least 1 unplanned use of health care resources [accident and emergency department (dept.), specialists [oncologist, pulmonologist, etcetera (etc.)], general practitioner (GP) or family doctor, or diagnostic procedures] during the study is reported.

The unplanned use of any 1 of the following 4 resources is reported, as well as the unplanned use of each resource: accident and emergency dept., specialists (oncologist, pulmonologist etc.), GP or family doctor, and diagnostic procedures. Results are reported as the number of participants with an unplanned resource use (visit) for a specified number of times.

The duration of the health care visit in the home setting is reported. The visit started when the nurse arrived and included the entire treatment process. The visit ended when the nurse left the home setting. Due to the limited number of participants with evaluable data, results are reported for Cycles 2 through 4.

The distance traveled is reported by region (Great Britain and Sweden) and includes the distance traveled by the participant from his/her home to the hospital (Cycle 1) and other cycles where the homecare nurse traveled from the hospital to the participant's home. Due to the limited number of participants with evaluable data, results are reported for Cycles 1 through 4.

The percentage of participants who were alive at Month 6 was calculated as a cumulative percentage by Kaplan-Meier survival analyses approach. For participants not known to have died as of the cut-off date, OS was censored as the last contact date (known alive).

The time from the date of the first dose of study treatment (Cycle 1, Day 1) to the date of death from any cause, PD (clinical and objective), or discontinuation of pemetrexed due to toxicity. Response was defined using RECIST, v1.1 criteria. PD was defined as having at least a 20% increase in the sum of the longest diameter of target lesions and at a minimum 5 mm increase above nadir. TTF was censored at the date of the last visit for participants who did not discontinue pemetrexed, who were still alive, and who had not progressed.