e24089 Background: Pancreatic cancer is associated with high symptom burden and frequent acute care utilization. Although early palliative care improves quality of life in advanced malignancies, real-world data describing its timing and downstream impact in pancreatic cancer remain limited. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using Epic Cosmos (2015–2025). Adults (≥18 years) with pancreatic cancer were identified using ICD-10 code C25.*. Early palliative care was defined as a documented palliative care encounter (ICD-10 Z51.5) within 0–2 months of cancer diagnosis. Patients were categorized as early palliative care versus not-early palliative care (late or no palliative care). A landmark approach was applied, with outcomes assessed beginning 2 months after diagnosis to mitigate immortal time bias. Outcomes included opioid use, antiemetic use, occupational/physical therapy (OT/PT) utilization, emergency department (ED) encounters resulting in inpatient admission, and inpatient length of stay. Results: Among 4,641 patients with pancreatic cancer, 464 (10.0%) received early palliative care, 365 (7.9%) received palliative care later, and 3,812 (82.1%) had no documented palliative care encounter. Compared with patients without early palliative care, early palliative care recipients demonstrated higher utilization of symptom-directed interventions, including opioids (40.6% vs 22.5%), antiemetics (37.2% vs 20.3%), and occupational/physical therapy services (6.2% vs 3.2%). Early palliative care was associated with a higher proportion of emergency department encounters resulting in inpatient admission (52.5% vs 23.6%), consistent with earlier consolidation of symptom-driven care. Mean inpatient length of stay was similar between groups (6.0 vs 6.2 days). Overall survival appeared comparable between groups; however, survival estimates in EHR-based analyses are limited by residual confounding and timing constraints. Conclusions: In a large national EHR cohort, early palliative care within two months of pancreatic cancer diagnosis was infrequently used but was associated with greater engagement in symptom-directed medications and supportive services, as well as a distinct downstream pattern of acute care utilization. These findings suggest that earlier integration of palliative care may improve coordination of symptom-focused care and represent an actionable quality-of-care target in pancreatic cancer.
Time to treatment initiation and clinical, toxicity, and supportive care outcomes in multiple myeloma: A real-world Epic Cosmos analysis.
e19559 Background: Timely initiation of systemic therapy is critical in multiple myeloma (MM), yet real-world variation in time to treatment initiation (TTI) and its association with clinical outcomes, treatment-related toxicities, and supportive care utilization remain incompletely characterized. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the Epic Cosmos database (2015–2025). Adults with MM were identified using ICD-10-CM code C90. TTI was defined as days from MM diagnosis to first exposure to systemic anti-myeloma therapy, including proteasome inhibitors, immunomodulatory drugs, or anti-CD38 monoclonal antibodies. Patients were stratified into TTI < 30 days (n = 90015), 30–60(n = 81190), and > 60 days(119,245). Primary outcomes included mortality, infection (sepsis or pneumonia), AKI within 30 days, DVT/PE, and bone marrow transplant (BMT). Secondary outcomes included hemodialysis initiation, febrile neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, herpes zoster reactivation, and use of bone-protective therapy (zoledronic acid, pamidronate, or denosumab) and antiviral prophylaxis (acyclovir/valacyclovir). Outcomes are presented as unadjusted percentages with 95% confidence intervals. Results: Mortality demonstrated a U-shaped association with TTI, occurring in 22.99%, 21.32%, and 21.32% of patients in the < 30-day, 30–60-day, and > 60-day cohorts, respectively. Infection rates were 16.42%, 17.11%, and 17.30%, while AKI < 30 occurred in 16.01%, 16.38%, and 16.49%. BMT utilization was highest in the 30–60-day cohort (19.14%) compared with < 30 days (18.28%) and > 60 days (18.21%). VTE rates increased modestly with delayed treatment (9.39%, 9.82%, and 10.10%). HD occurred in 3.15%, 3.08%, and 3.07% of patients. Febrile neutropenia occurred in 17.15%, 18.03%, and 17.55%, thrombocytopenia in 13.34%, 13.93%, and 13.86%, and herpes zoster reactivation in 1.21%, 1.29%, and 1.42%. Antiviral prophylaxis use was highest in the 30–60-day cohort (91.25%) compared with < 30 days (88.48%) and > 60 days (88.23%). Bone-protective therapy use was also highest in the 30–60-day cohort (31.68%) versus < 30 days (28.90%) and > 60 days (23.79%). Conclusions: In this large real-world analysis, initiation of systemic therapy within 30–60 days of MM diagnosis was associated with lower mortality, higher transplant utilization, and greater use of guideline-recommended supportive care compared with both earlier and delayed treatment initiation. Patients treated within 30 days appeared to represent a higher-acuity phenotype, while delays beyond 60 days were associated with lower supportive care uptake and higher thrombotic risk. These findings suggest that time to treatment initiation may reflect both disease severity and care delivery quality, and identify a potentially actionable window to optimize treatment pathways and supportive care in multiple myeloma.
Real-world use of fruquintinib in refractory metastatic colorectal cancer in the United States.
e15713 Background: Fruquintinib demonstrated overall survival benefit in heavily pretreated metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) in FRESCO and FRESCO-2. The FDA approved fruquintinib on Nov 8, 2023 for adult patients with mCRC after standard chemotherapy plus anti-VEGF therapy, with anti-EGFR therapy when appropriate (e.g., RAS wild-type). Observed geographic variation in post-approval uptake suggests potential disparities in the delivery of evidence-based medicine across U.S. regions. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using Epic Cosmos, a database of over 300 million patient records from over 1,500 hospitals nationwide. We identified adults with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) with prior standard systemic therapy exposure and recorded fruquintinib exposure following FDA approval beginning Nov 8, 2023. Fruquintinib uptake was analyzed by U.S. Census region and state, expressed as the proportion of eligible mCRC patients receiving fruquintinib within each geography. Results: Among 116,116 pre-treated mCRC patients, 6,722 (5.79%) had recorded fruquintinib exposure during the post-approval period. Uptake varied nearly five-fold across states (2.27%–11.33%) (Table). High-uptake states were disproportionately concentrated in the central U.S./Midwest, whereas multiple low-uptake states were observed in the West and Northeast, suggesting broader regional variation beyond state-to-state differences. Conclusions: In a large national EHR-derived cohort of pre-treated mCRC patients after U.S. approval, fruquintinib uptake demonstrated substantial geographic variation. These findings raise concern for inequities in delivery of evidence-based later-line therapy and highlight the need to identify modifiable system- and site-level drivers (e.g., access, referral patterns, treatment infrastructure) to promote equitable adoption. Fruquintinib uptake among eligible metastatic colorectal cancer patients by U.S. state. Rank Geography Eligible mCRC (N) Fruquintinib uptake (%) Overall Overall 116,116 5.79 Top 1 Oklahoma 1,236 11.33 2 Kansas 1,312 10.75 3 Indiana 2,448 10.70 4 Missouri 1,521 9.47 5 Connecticut 2,208 9.24 Bottom 1 Washington 1,232 2.27 2 Nevada 441 2.72 3 Rhode Island 476 2.73 4 Tennessee 1490 2.82 5 Maine 614 2.93 Fruquintinib uptake is reported as the proportion of eligible pre-treated metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) patients with recorded fruquintinib exposure following U.S. FDA approval. States are ranked by uptake percentage.
Esophageal high-resolution manometry can be safely and effectively performed with concurrent glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist use
Summary Esophageal high-resolution manometry (HRM) is the gold standard for evaluating esophageal motility disorders but can be limited by patient intolerance. With increasing use of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) for obesity and type 2 diabetes, delayed gastric emptying raises concerns for HRM feasibility and safety. This study assessed HRM tolerability in patients on GLP-1RAs. We conducted a retrospective case–control study of adult patients who underwent HRM at our tertiary care center between January 2014 and November 2024. Patients actively taking GLP-1RAs during HRM were identified as cases, while an equal number of consecutive eligible patients not on GLP-1RAs served as controls. Patients with established gastrointestinal dysmotility, prior foregut surgery, esophageal mechanical obstruction, large hiatal hernias, malignancy, or recent opioid use were excluded. From a prospective database of 7194 HRM attempts, 83 cases and 83 matched controls were identified. Among 166 patients, 15 (9.0%) had incomplete HRM due to intolerance, with similar rates between GLP-1RA users and controls (10.84% vs. 7.2%, P = 0.59). Predictors of incomplete HRM included younger age (44.9 ± 17.4 vs. 60.4 ± 13.7 years, P < 0.01), globus (P = 0.02), dyspepsia (P = 0.02), and depression (P = 0.04). No aspiration or adverse events occurred in either group. Duration of HRM before abortion was similar between cases and controls. GLP-1RA use was not associated with increased risk of HRM abortion or adverse events, suggesting these medications do not significantly impact HRM feasibility or safety.
Mission Impossible: Endoscopic Restoration of Gastrointestinal Lumen Continuity
ABSTRACT Anastomotic leaks following complex gastrointestinal surgeries pose a significant challenge, especially in patients unfit for further surgical intervention. We present a novel 3-staged endoscopic approach to restore gut continuity in a 55-year-old woman with multiple anastomotic leaks and discontinuous bowel segments following extensive abdominal surgeries. The procedure included stent placement, endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided gastrojejunostomy with a lumen-apposing metal stent (LAMS), and fistula plug insertion with glue. Over 6 months, bowel continuity was restored, and at 6-year follow-up, the patient remains symptom free, tolerating oral intake. This case demonstrates the transformative potential of advanced endoscopic techniques in managing complex gastrointestinal disruptions without further surgery.
Plicating the Gut: Endoscopic Suturing to Resolve Ileal Intussusception Causing Ileocolic Anastomotic Obstruction