Open AccessMolecular tests and target therapies in oncology: recommendations from the Italian workshop
Author(s) -
Carmine Pinto,
Mauro Biffoni,
Patrizia Popoli,
Antonio Marchetti,
Paolo Marchetti,
Nello Martini,
Nicola Normanno
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
future oncology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.857
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1744-8301
pISSN - 1479-6694
DOI - 10.2217/fon-2021-0286
Subject(s) - medicine , reimbursement , profiling (computer programming) , precision medicine , companion diagnostic , liquid biopsy , personalized medicine , oncology , precision oncology , molecular diagnostics , computational biology , bioinformatics , cancer , pathology , biology , computer science , health care , economic growth , operating system , economics
Next-generation sequencing (NGS) and liquid biopsy are new technologies that can allow overall tumor profiling in a single analysis and play an important role in the implementation of precision oncology. However, the lack of guidelines in this setting has limited the development of precision oncology in Italy. This article summarizes recommendations for the appropriate use of NGS in tumor gene profiling, as well as access to tests and target drugs, that were prepared by a group of key opinion leaders and relevant stakeholders. In particular, the need to create laboratory networks capable of carrying out NGS tests in Italy is highlighted. It also appears necessary to establish an adequate reimbursement system for NGS tests. However, the expert panel recommends that the use of NGS tests in clinical practice should be limited to specific tumor types, based on the number and complexity of biomarkers and the availability of treatments.