What is it about?

Not all gene mutations found in a cancer are created equal. For example, some EGFR mutations respond to treatment, while others don't. Yet, clinical trials often list recruitment criteria as "EGFR mutant" and published trial results never mention the exact mutation. This is not best practice for precision oncology. The exact mutation, i.e. EGFR T790M, should be required in clinical trial recruitment postings and scientific publishers need to insist on this as well. A collective effort with standards and requirements will propel precision oncology and make best use of next-generation sequencing.

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Why is it important?

We need to break down data silos and make best use of data generated from patient tumors. Oncology clinical trials will have better recruitment if specific gene mutations are listed in a standardized format in the eligibility section.

Perspectives

For our project, the Clinical Knowledgebase (JAX-CKB, jax.ckb.org), we read thousands of scientific papers and clinical trial records each year. The number of times these resources neglect to mention the specific gene mutation is daunting. In order to identify better targeted cancer treatments and propel precision oncology, this granular data must be required. We are obligated to address this unmet need to serve cancer patients in a timely manner.

Susan Mockus
The Jackson Laboratory

Read the Original

This page is a summary of: Clinical Trials in Precision Oncology, Clinical Chemistry, November 2015, AACC,
DOI: 10.1373/clinchem.2015.247437.
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