Newswise — Dr. Rogerio Lilenbaum, a board member of NCCN and Chief Medical Officer of Smilow Cancer Hospital at the Yale Cancer Center said that for nonsmall-cell lung cancer, both panel testing and liquid biopsies are appropriate. 

“In lung cancer, for example, we do have data that liquid biopsies are clinically useful and are accurate,” explained Lilenbaum, who is a medical oncologist and sits on the NCCN’s NSCLC panel. “In lung cancer, there are clinical trials and other guidelines that suggest that there is a good level of accuracy between the liquid biopsy and the tumor biopsy, which would serve as the gold standard. In certain circumstances, you can use a liquid biopsy to guide treatment without having to resort to a tumor biopsy.”

When it comes to broad molecular profiling and testing, insurance coverage  is, “at best erratic,” Lilenbaum said. He added that some insurers may cover individual genes but that is probably not the best way forward.

 

To read the full article from MedCity News, visit https://medcitynews.com/2017/10/liquid-biopsy-molecular-testing-vs-reimbursement-personal-story/