Results from a study involving Pathwork Diagnostics Inc‘s Tissue of Origin Test will be presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) – International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) Joint Conference on The Molecular Origins of Lung Cancer: Biology, Therapy and Personalized Medicine (January 8-11, 2012, San Diego).
The Pathwork Tissue of Origin Test is a FDA-cleared, Medicare-covered molecular diagnostic for identifying tissue of origin. It uses a tumor’s own genomic information to help pathologists and oncologists diagnose challenging cancer cases such as those that are metastatic or that have a complex clinical history.
In the study, use of chemotherapy regimens consistent with guidelines for the final tumor-site diagnosis increased significantly from 42% to 65%. Overall survival was projected to increase from 15.9 months to 19.5 months. The average increase in survival adjusted for quality of life was 2.7 months and the average cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained was $46,858.
The retrospective, observational study examined treatment changes made in patients by physicians who received Tissue of Origin Test results. Changes in planned chemotherapy, surgery, radiation therapy, blood tests, imaging, and referral to hospice care before and after test results were recorded. Estimates of the effect of changes in chemotherapy on survival were based on National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) and other treatment guidelines. Costs were estimated based on data from NCCN and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) fee schedules. Changes in overall survival, costs, and cost per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained were estimated.
The study, “Cost-effectiveness of gene-expression profiling for tumor-site origin,” was authored by John Hornberger, Irina Degtiar, Hialy Gutierrez, Ashwini Shewade, W. David Henner, Shawn Becker, and Stephen Raab.
Source: Pathwork Diagnostics Inc
