Avoiding Needless Testing in NSCLC Treatment

Video

With the emphasis on testing for biomarkers to determine treatment for patients with lung cancer, it's important to make sure the testing will have an impact on clinical decisions.

Biomarkers are starting to become a fixture in how oncologists determine the treatment of patients with lung cancer. Yet for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), these biomarkers are not as reliable and it’s important for oncology professionals not to order needless tests, according to Taofeek Owonikoko, MD, PhD, MSCR.

Owonikoko, professor of hematology-oncology at the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, had the chance to speak with OncLive®, a sister publication to Oncology Nursing News®, at the 14th Annual New York Lung Cancers Symposium on why testing for this patient group must be considered carefully.

TRANSCRIPTION

I think we have to balance a lot of things, our curiosity for new options of treatment for patients, the cost of doing tests, and then the value that we bring to the patient by doing such tests. There is no point doing a test if we're not going to use that test to make any conscious decision about the patient.

In terms of standard profiling of small cell lung cancer patients, I would rather like to see a more systematic approach of profiling patients and sending that tissue sample because we don't have anything else to do.

Newsletter

Stay up to date on recent advances in oncology nursing and patient care.

Recent Videos
Photo of a woman with brown hair and a floral blouse
Photo of a woman with a blue border around the image
2 experts are featured in this series.
2 experts are featured in this series.
Image of a woman with gray hair and glasses in front of a blue Oncology Nursing News background
Photo of a woman with blond wavy hair wearing a blazer in front of a blue Oncology Nursing News background
Photo of a woman with shoulder-length blond hair in front of an Oncology Nursing News backdrop
Image of a woman with white hair in front of an Oncology Nursing News blue background
2 experts are featured in this series.
Image of a man in a suit standing in front of a blue Oncology Nursing News backdrop