Upfront NGS testing of metastatic NSCLC saves money, time

Study details

For NSCLC, there are currently approved treatments that target alterations in EGFR, ALK, ROS1, and BRAF, and investigational treatments in clinical trials that target alterations in MET, HER2, RET, and NTRK1.

In the model Dr. Pennell and his colleagues developed, patients with newly diagnosed metastatic NSCLC received testing for programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) plus testing for the above known lung cancer–related genes using one of four strategies:

• NGS testing (testing of all eight genes plus KRAS simultaneously).
• Sequential testing (testing one gene at a time starting with EGFR).
• Exclusionary testing (testing for KRAS mutation, the most common genomic alteration, followed by sequential testing for changes in other genes only if KRAS was not mutated).
• Hot-spot panel testing (combined testing for EGFR, ALK, ROS1, and BRAF), followed by either single-gene or NGS testing for alterations in other genes.

Model results indicated that among 1 million hypothetical plan enrollees, 2,066 patients covered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and 156 covered by U.S. commercial insurers would have newly diagnosed metastatic NSCLC and therefore be eligible for testing.