Blood-based genomic and proteomic testing at the time of lung cancer diagnosis has been found to speed up treatment decisions regardless of disease stage, according to research due to be presented at the CHEST Annual Meeting 2016 in Los Angeles on Wednesday, 26th October.
A multi-disciplinary team used commercially available blood-based genomic and proteomic testing for 20 patients to expedite treatment decisions and facilitate more informed conversations with lung cancer patients.
Compared with traditional testing of biopsy specimens, the blood tests yielded both important diagnostic information much faster (within 72 hours) regardless of disease stage, and significantly decreased the wait period between diagnoses and the start of treatment.
Lead author, Dr. Jennifer Mattingly, said, “Waiting for test results on biopsy material to determine the correct course of action can delay treatment for several weeks, sometimes months. The rapid and accurate results of these tests significantly decreases the wait time between diagnosis and treatment."
The research team hopes that adoption of blood-testing at the time of diagnosis may provide rapid results to aid in treatment decisions, decrease time of treatment, and facilitate more informed prognostic conversations with patients to speed up care and improve overall patient experience.