Changes in management of TNBC durin the COVID19 pandemic of 2020

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION An increasing body of evidence demonstrates that the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 saw large reductions in the number of US patients being diagnosed with a variety of conditions, including cancer. A previous real world evidence study based upon analysis of CMS claims data showed a large drop in cancer diagnoses across multiple solid tumor diseases and evidence suggesting changes in testing behaviors for these patients over the period of maximal lockdown measures to mitigate spread of infection. Further, the drop in patient numbers had not returned to normal once these measures were relaxed by the end of June. Therefore, we decided to examine CMS data for the entire year of 2020 and focus on a single sub-group in breast cancer, TNBC. These patients have poor prognosis and are relatively intensively managed;it was reasoned that changes in management, especially testing behavior, might be more apparent in this group than in breast cancer patients as a whole. METHODS CMS data for 2019-20 were queried using a proprietary business rule for identifying TNBC cases and then subdivided into 2 groups those who received a treatment under a "J" HCPCS code and those who had not. Office visits, Level IV surgical pathology (SP) and immunohistochemistry (IHC) were defined by appropriate HCPCS codes. Since all PD-L1 testing is covered by HCPCS code 88360, a claim for 88360 was considered indicative of a PD-L1 test. A decrease in the number of patients during the COVID-19 pandemic Swas defined as a ≥ 10% drop for the value in a given month in 2020 compared to the same month in 2019, as a percentage of the 2019 median value. This is termed the "COVID-Dip". RESULTS Data were gathered from a total of 68, 018 patients, 8, 131 with a J code treatment and 59, 887 without. Results of COVID dip analysis are presented in Table 1. Trastuzumab administration showed an overall decline across the entire study period. While IHC for 88360 showed a COVID dip, administration of atezolizumab and pembrolizumab increased across the study period with administration of nivolumab (collectively immuno-oncology, IO, drugs) remaining relatively constant. 47% of patients receiving IO therapy received a presumed PD-L1 test. There was longitudinal variation in the use of chemotherapy agents but no apparent COVID dip in their use. DISCUSSION There were declines both in patient presentation to doctors' offices, as well as diagnostic testing among TNBC patients during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 with differences between those receiving chemotherapy under J codes and those not. There was no evidence of decline in use of chemotherapy under J codes. Increased IO use but declines in IHC testing suggest a greater use of off-label prescribing of these drugs during the pandemic. The decline in presentation to doctors' offices and in testing of patients not receiving J code drugs suggests that these patients may experience significant delays in management of their condition with concomitant increases in morbidity and mortality.