Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 21, 2026

Ultra-Fast Amplicon-Based Next-Generation Sequencing in Non-Squamous Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
Published on: September 8, 2023
Adopting integrated care pathways in non-small-cell lung cancer: from theory to practice
Gianpiero Fasola1, Simona Rizzato, Valentina Merlo
1Departments of Oncology, S Maria della Misericordia University Hospital, Udine, Italy. fasola.gianpiero@aoud.sanita.fvg.it
Introduction:
Integrated care pathways (ICPs) have been proposed as effective strategies for quality improvement. To date, limited data are available that detail the methodology to design an optimal care pathway for patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The main aim of this study was to assess the quality of health care delivered to lung cancer patients referred to a hub university hospital.
Methods:
All professionals involved with the management of NSCLC patients, in cooperation with health care researchers, identified 11 quality indicators and associated benchmarks. These were used to estimate the quality and efficiency of health care delivered to a cohort of 175 NSCLC patients.
Results:
The gap between "desired" and "actual" performance has been measured by benchmarking current practice against key quality indicators. Diagnostic workup, multidisciplinary team care and medical treatment of advanced disease have emerged as areas of good performance. Conversely, the management of early-stage disease offers room for improvement, in terms of both accuracy of nodal staging and surgical timeliness.
Conclusions:
Analyzing the process of caring for NSCLC patients is feasible and offers room for improvement. Acquired knowledge may be shared with hospital administrators, guide the revision of ICPs, and enable the delivery of consistent, high-quality clinical standards.
Related Concept Videos
Targeted Cancer Therapies
There are several types of targeted therapies against specific...
Cancer Therapies
However, cancer treatments can pose several challenges, as therapies used to kill cancer cells are generally also toxic to normal cells. Moreover, cancer cells mutate rapidly and can develop resistance to chemical agents or radiation therapy. Besides, all types of cancer cells may not respond to the same therapy. Some cancer cells respond to one...
Patient-centered Care
Pulmonary Embolism II: Diagnostic Studies and Interprofessional Care
Treatment Resistant Cancers
Treatment Resistent Cancers