Clinical Utility of Tumor Next-Generation Sequencing Panel Testing to Inform Treatment Decisions for Patients With...

There is limited information about the clinical utility of targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) panel testing to inform decision making for patients with advanced solid tumors. The Ontario-wide Cancer Targeted Nucleic Acid Evaluation (OCTANE) is a prospective study that enrolled more than 4,500 patients with solid tumor for NGS panel testing. We performed a retrospective survey of medical oncologists to evaluate the impact of NGS testing on treatment decisions.

Patients and treating oncologists were identified at the Princess Margaret Cancer Center between 2016 and 2021. Tumor-only sequencing was performed using a gene panel of either 555 or 161 cancer genes. Oncologists were asked to review testing results and complete a survey indicating whether NGS testing affected treatment decisions. The primary outcome of this study was rate of treatment change on the basis of mutation results. Patient, test, and physician factors were evaluated for association with treatment changes using univariate analyses and a mixed-effects model.

Of the 582 surveys sent, 394 (67.7%) were completed. We found that 188 (47.7%) patients had testing results classified as actionable by the oncologist and 62 (15.7%) patients were matched to treatment, of whom 37 (60%) were enrolled in a clinical trial, 13 (21%) received an approved drug, four (6%) were prescribed off-label therapy, and eight (13%) avoided ineffective treatment. Patient, test, and physician characteristics were not significantly associated with treatment change. There was no difference in overall survival between patients who received matched treatment versus those who did not (P = .55, median survival not reached).

OCTANE testing led to a change in drug treatment in 15.7% of patients, supporting the clinical utility of NGS panel testing for patients with advanced solid tumors.