Objective:

To describe molecular testing documentation, first-line treatment patterns, safety capture, and survival outcomes in a Colombian multicenter registry cohort of patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.

Approach:

• Study Design: Retrospective registry-based cohort study using the RECAPC central repository.
• Data Collection: Data extraction finalized on October 10, 2025, including 585 patients with metastatic-at-diagnosis disease.
• Survival Analysis: Overall survival estimated using Kaplan–Meier methods and modeled with Cox regression.

Key Findings:

• Mean age of patients was 72.0 years, with 52.0% female.
• Driver groups: EGFR/ALK altered (32.8%), Other actionable altered (4.6%), no driver detected (15.0%), not tested/unknown (47.5%).
• First-line therapies included chemotherapy alone (34.4%), chemo-immunotherapy (21.0%), immunotherapy alone (3.9%), targeted therapy (26.7%), and not reported (14.0%).
• PD-L1 expression: <1% in 25.5%, 1–49% in 20.3%, ≥50% in 12.6%; testing not performed in 26.7%, and data were missing in 14.9%.
• Overall survival differed by driver group (log-rank P < 0.001); not tested/unknown associated with higher mortality (hazard ratio 2.26).

Interpretation:

Findings indicate common issues with incomplete molecular characterization and missing first-line regimen documentation in the Colombian healthcare setting.

Limitations:

• Observational nature of the study limits causal inference.
• Missing treatment documentation may reflect systemic issues rather than clerical errors.

Conclusion:

The study highlights issues with incomplete molecular characterization and missing first-line regimen documentation in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer in Colombia.

Sources:

• RECAPC Registry