At the 2022 WCLC, Brandon Sheffield, MD, presented data demonstrating the advantage of next-generation sequencing over other biomarker testing strategies in patients with non–small cell lung cancer.
At the 2022 World Conference on Lung Cancer, CancerNetwork® spoke with Brandon Sheffield, MD, an anatomic and molecular pathologist at William Osler Health System in Canada, about the effects of single-gene testing vs next-generation sequencing (NGS) on costs and overall disease outcomes in patients with non–small cell lung cancer. Results showed that NGS was attributed to the lowest total testing cost per patient vs single-gene testing and resulted in the highest proportion of patients discovering a genomic alteration for which approved targeted therapies are available.
We hope to see these results utilized by advocates for lung cancer to help fuel their efforts to increase utilization of next-generation sequencing. This will support a lot of the work that we’re doing for advocacy in areas where patients don't have access to these tests. This might also help with payors, either private insurance companies or public health care systems, who are looking to maximize the amount of utility that they get for their health care dollars. Ultimately, we hope that these data are going to be helpful in increasing access to comprehensive next-generation sequencing for patients with lung cancer.
Sheffield B, Eaton K, Emond B, et al. Economic impact of delaying care with single-gene testing versus next-generation sequencing in non-small cell lung cancer. Presented at: World Conference on Lung Cancer; Vienna, Austria; August 6-9, 2022. Abstract MA12.05.
These data support less restrictive clinical trial eligibility criteria for those with metastatic NSCLC. This is especially true regarding both targeted therapy and immunotherapy treatment regimens.