Despite the 2016 launch—and 2022 reignition—of the National Cancer Institute’s Cancer MoonshotSM and the 2015 Precision Medicine Initiative, Molecular Tumor Boards to direct personalized cancer care still are few and far between. A few reasons drive that scarcity including the limited availability of molecular pathology specialists, time of preparation and research required for identification of appropriate therapies and the effort to bring a multi-disciplinary team together. OncoLens’ tumor board solutions bring efficiency and ease of access to providers and ultimately patients. Biomarker data is automatically integrated along with the patient’s clinical data and discussions can be easily extended to include the right experts and cases sourced across health system or practices.
The New Molecular Recommendation Builder from OncoLens provides the infrastructure necessary to enable institutions to further standardize their Molecular Tumor Boards. It enables them to record and search for prior recommendations made by biomarker, creating a database of targeted therapies and clinical trials. In essence, it enables the development of the center’s own pathways. The module includes a streamlined workflow to search across internal prior recommendations and external best practices—all the way through to development of a final recommendation letter.
In an Annals of Oncology article on “Molecular Tumor Boards: current practice and future needs,”1 the authors write that “MTBs are critical to close the growing gap between clinical practice and technological potential in cancer care,” and they note the limitations of standard pathology and sequencing reports that report only mutations with well-known treatment consequences while overlooking those for which alternative treatments might be available. In light of their conclusion that “Since the opportunities for (and, consequently, complexity of) genomic tumor testing and genetically guided treatment are continuously expanding, patients rightfully expect that treatment opportunities are recognized and discussed.” MTBs can help make that complex genomic information actionable, supporting patient-centered treatment decisions. The Molecular Recommendation Builder can make it easier for MTB members to visualize the biomarker information and make evidence-based recommendations based on prior recommendations or best practices.
Accessible directly from the case, Molecular Recommendation Builder matches the patient’s genomic results with potential therapies for their specific clinical picture, based on best-practice guidelines and a proprietary institutional database of guidelines, eliminating the need to research and identify similar case histories in disparate locations. MTB members can add to or edit matching recommendations based on the current patient, linking to clinical trials and references. This creates a new set of recommendations for the patient while continuing to expand the institutional database, enhancing the recommendation suggestions for future patients.
As genomic sequencing becomes the standard of care, molecular tumor boards will play a key role in enhancing our understanding of molecular characteristics and knowledge of the therapeutic approaches with the best possible outcomes. With the Molecular Recommendation Builder, OncoLens makes it possible for MTBs to demonstrate their expertise, build their knowledge base, and reach more patients.
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1 van der Velden DL, van Herpen CML, van Laarhoven HWM, Smit EF, Groen HJM, Willems SM, Nederlof PM, Langenberg MHG, Cuppen E, Sleijfer S, Steeghs N, Voest EE. Molecular Tumor Boards: current practice and future needs. Ann Oncol. 2017 Dec 1;28(12):3070-3075. doi: 10.1093/annonc/mdx528. PMID: 29045504.
