Early Genomic Profiling Boosts Cancer Treatment Options
Early cancer genomic panel testing aimed at detecting genetic changes in cancer cells significantly increases patients' chances of receiving effective therapies and reduces mortality risk, according to a study released recently by Kyoto University Hospital on Friday (December 12).
- A study found that 25% of cancer patients who received comprehensive genomic profiling early in their diagnosis were able to receive recommended, targeted treatments.
- This success rate is significantly higher than the 8.2% for patients tested after standard treatments, partly because the early-stage patients were in better physical condition to receive the therapy.
- Patients who received treatments based on early profiling had a 41% lower mortality risk and a drastically lower risk of cancer progression compared to those who did not.
One in four cancer patients was able to receive the right kind of medication when they underwent cancer genomic panel testing, the study showed.
The testing, called comprehensive genomic profiling, removes DNA from patients' blood and cancer tissues and analyses dozens to hundreds of kinds of genetic mutations.
Under Japan's public health insurance program, the testing is available only to patients, such as those with limited options for effective treatment.
Based on the results of the testing, a panel of experts examines whether there are drugs effective for the patients and makes recommendations to the doctors treating them.
More than 100,000 patients have received the testing since it became available under the public health insurance program in 2019.
According to the university hospital's follow-up study of 172 patients who developed cancer in such organs as the digestive tract, lung and breast, 43 patients, or 25 per cent, were able to receive the treatments recommended by a panel of experts.
In the meantime, health ministry data have shown that only 8.2 per cent of patients who underwent genomic profiling after receiving anticancer drugs or other standard treatment were able to receive treatments based on their test results.
This was partly because some patients became too sick to receive the recommended treatment.
The follow-up study observed better results, presumably because patients hadn't been administered anticancer drugs that tend to be tough on the body and were thus in stable condition when they had the opportunity to get the recommended treatment.
The study also showed that the mortality risk among the patients who went through the testing and were able to receive effective drugs recommended by experts was 41 per cent lower than for those who were unable to receive such therapy.
The risk of cancer progression was also drastically lower for the former group.
Kyoto University Hospital professor Manabu Muto said that undergoing comprehensive genomic profiling at an early stage of treatment leads to a longer survival period.
He added that the university hospital intends to urge the government to eliminate restrictions on the timing for undergoing such testing under pubic health insurance coverage.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
