Our topic for the next #LCSM Tweet Chat on Thursday, January 14th at 5 PM Pacific (8 PM Eastern) is “What Clinical Questions Can We Study to Improve Lung Cancer Treatment Outcomes?” In this chat, moderator Dr. David Tom Cooke (@DavidCookeMD) will facilitate brainstorming for clinical trial ideas.

The chat is a continuation of #LCSM Chat’s ongoing Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) funded project, entitled “Empowering Patients and Their Families to Improve Outcomes That Are Most Important to Them after Surgery and Other Therapies for Lung Cancer.”

Patient-centered outcomes research (PCOR) seeks to help stakeholders (patients, their family members, friends and care providers) communicate and make informed healthcare decisions, allowing multiple voices to be heard in assessing the value and efficacy of healthcare options. The last #LCSM Chat tweet chat reviewed highlights of the past year and projections for the future, and our LCSM community identified patient-driven research as a positive from 2015, and more patient-driven research as a prediction for 2016.  

The goal of our project is to formulate and develop a comparative-effectiveness research (CER) project, to answer important questions and needs identified by our #LCSM community. 

What is CER, you ask? CER compares a) two or more options, b) studies the risk and benefits of the options, c) compares options already proven to be effective (so no placebo), and d) assesses which options are better for the population being studied.  

Additional components that can be in a CER question are:

• Comparing interventions available to patients with lung cancer now
• Addressing a critical gap in current knowledge of lung cancer
• Seeking to fill a critical gap in current knowledge, evidenced by inconsistencies in lung cancer clinical practice and decision making
• Making it likely to improve lung cancer care through an approach that is novel or innovative.
• Indicating potential for a sizeable benefit of the lung cancer treatment intervention relative to current practice
• Focusing on outcomes of specific interest to lung cancer patients and their caregivers, and using patient reported outcomes when possible
• Generating findings that will inform decision making for key stakeholders in Lung Cancer

With the above goals, here are questions that will be discussed during our June 19th Tweet Chat:

T1: What question(s) would you like studied to improve the side effects of #LungCancer treatment? #LCSM

T2: What question(s) would you like studied to improve the recovery and outcomes of patients undergoing #LungCancer #surgery? #LCSM

T3: What strategies can we study to improve screening and diagnosis of #LungCancer? #LCSM

T4: What methods can we study to improve the delivery of #LungCancer care? #LCSM

T5: What other question(s) would you like studied to in the care and Rx of #LungCancer patients? Tell us your idea! #LCSM

This Tweet Chat will be a launching pad for a campaign, separate from the scheduled Tweet Chats, in January and February asking you for your patient-powered CER ideas.  Feel free to tweet ideas (using the #MyLungCATrialIdea) as ideas come to you. Whether you are in the waiting room at your healthcare provider,  watching TV, in a lecture, or reading a scientific article, just pop onto Twitter and tweet your idea. An update chat in March will follow up on the campaign. 

For examples of CER studies funded by PCORI, click here. For examples of CER questions listed by the Institutes of Medicine click here.  

Please join us for #LCSM Chat on Thursday January 15 at 8 PM ET. Remember to add the hashtag #LCSM to your tweets at the appointed hour and follow the stream. Here is more info on how to participate in #LCSM Chat. If you cannot participate in the tweet chat but still want to share your thoughts about the above lung cancer surgery questions, please post your thoughts in the comments below. The #LCSM founders will make sure your comment is tweeted during the chat.