Author(s)

Tomonori Hirashima^1*, Teppei Tsumori^2,3, Kenichi Sakai⁴, Makoto Fujishima⁴, Yukie Yamakawa⁵, Noriko Ryouta⁵, Masumi Sandoh⁶, Takayuki Shiroyama¹, Motohiro Tamiya¹, Naoko Morishita¹, Hidekazu Suzuki¹, Norio Okamoto¹, Sho Goya², Hironori Shigeoka⁴

¹Departments of Thoracic Malignancy Osaka Prefectural Medical Center for Respiratory and Allergic Diseases, Osaka, Japan.
²Departments of Palliative Medicine Osaka Prefectural Medical Center for Respiratory and Allergic Diseases, Osaka, Japan.
³Tsumori Clinic, Osaka, Japan.
⁴Departments of Gastroenterological and Breast Surgery Osaka Prefectural Medical Center for Respiratory and Allergic Diseases, Osaka, Japan.
⁵Departments of Nursing Osaka Prefectural Medical Center for Respiratory and Allergic Diseases, Osaka, Japan.
⁶Departments of Pharmacy Osaka Prefectural Medical Center for Respiratory and Allergic Diseases, Osaka, Japan.

Background: As the prognosis of lung cancer (LC) patients improves, subcutaneously implanted central venous access device ports (CV-ports) have frequently been used for continuing chemotherapy (CC) or palliative care (PC). In this study, we examined the clinical course of LC patients with subcutaneously implanted CV-ports from the time of receiving chemotherapy to the endpoint of cancer. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data and treatment history of LC patients with subcutaneously implanted CV-ports between June 2008 and November 2013 using clinical records and a pharmacy database. Results: Of the 132 LC patients with subcutaneously implanted CV-ports, 79 (59.8%) had CV-ports for CC (the CC group) and 53 (40.2%) had CV-ports for PC (the PC group). After CV-port implantation, LC patients in the CC group received a median of two regimens with a median of 6 cycles. The median survival time of patients in the CC and PC groups was 457 and 44 days, respectively. In the CC group, the median survival time of small cell and non-small cell LC patients was 342 (95% confidence interval, 235 - 627) and 563 (95% confidence interval, 368 - 728) days, respectively. Nine patients (6.8%) had their CV-ports removed due to complications. Forty (30.3%) of the 132 enrolled patients were referred for at-home PC. The at-home death rate observed among these 40 patients was 30.0% (N = 12). Conclusion: CV-ports may contribute to seamless oncological care.

Clinical Course, At-Home Death Rate, Implanted Central Venous Access Device Port, Lung Cancer, Seamless Oncological Care

Hirashima, T. , Tsumori, T. , Sakai, K. , Fujishima, M. , Yamakawa, Y. , Ryouta, N. , Sandoh, M. , Shiroyama, T. , Tamiya, M. , Morishita, N. , Suzuki, H. , Okamoto, N. , Goya, S. and Shigeoka, H. (2016) Clinical Course of Lung Cancer Patients with Subcutaneously Implanted Central Venous Access Device Ports from the Time of Receiving Chemotherapy to the Endpoint of Cancer. Journal of Cancer Therapy, 7, 519-529. doi: 10.4236/jct.2016.77055.