Publications by authors named "Dylan G Scholes"
Purpose: Less than half of the patients with newly diagnosed metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) undergo comprehensive molecular testing. We designed an electronic medical record (EMR)-based "nudge intervention" to prompt plasma-based molecular testing at the time of initial medical oncology consultation.
Methods: A nonrandomized prospective trial was conducted at the University of Pennsylvania's academic practice and two affiliated community practices.
The therapeutic landscape for patients with advanced malignancies has changed dramatically over the last twenty years. The growing number of targeted therapies and immunotherapeutic options available have improved response rates and survival for a subset of patients, however determining which patients will experience clinical benefit from these therapies in order to avoid potential toxicities and reduce healthcare costs remains a clinical challenge. Cell-free circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) is shed by tumor cells into systemic circulation and is already an integral part of routine clinical practice for the non-invasive tumor genotyping in advanced non-small cell lung cancer as well as other malignancies.
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- - Current guidelines suggest that molecular genotyping is essential for patients diagnosed with metastatic nonsquamous non-small-cell lung cancer (mNSq NSCLC), but its effect on overall survival (OS) before first-line therapy was unclear.
- - A study included 326 patients, finding that 80% had their genotyping results available before treatment, which was linked to a significantly longer OS compared to those without results (adjusted hazard ratio of 0.43).
- - The research also showed that using both tissue and plasma testing increased the chances of having genotyping results available prior to treatment, indicating the importance of molecular testing in improving patient outcomes.