KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The study aimed to assess the economic impact of clinical trial enrollment following liquid biopsy CGP in patients with NSCLC.
- The results revealed clinical and economic benefits of liquid biopsy CGP may influence coverage decisions and formularies.
Oncology clinical trial enrollment is strongly recommended for cancer patients ineligible for established therapies. Trials often focus on biomarker-targeted treatments, managed under specialty pharmacy services. Comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) in advanced cancers detects biomarkers, guides targeted therapy, improves outcomes, and boosts clinical trial enrollment.
This offsets pharmacy costs for US payers, yet coverage policies vary. Concerns about CGP include identifying non-guideline biomarkers, seen as funding research. However, such biomarkers enhance trial eligibility, aligning with specialty pharmacy goals to maximize member enrollment.
Julie A Wiedower and the team aimed to assess the clinical and economic impact of clinical trial enrollment after liquid biopsy CGP for non small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) from a payer claims perspective.
Clinical and economic outcomes were examined using a real-world clinical genomic database, incorporating payer claims data. The study included patients with NSCLC who were enrolled in clinical trials immediately after liquid biopsy CGP (Guardant360), compared with matched NSCLC controls also undergoing liquid biopsy CGP.
The results revealed that in real-world settings, patients enrolled in clinical trials showed significantly better overall survival (log-rank P< 0.0001). Despite similar costs of care, these patients had more outpatient encounters compared to matched controls.
The study concluded that integrating clinical trial direction and enrollment as part of liquid biopsy CGP offers both clinical and economic benefits. Payers and specialty pharmacy managers should consider incorporating this into coverage decision frameworks and formularies, alongside the clinical benefits of targeted therapies guided by CGP and other testing methods.
No funding information was available.
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38950156/
Wiedower JA, Forbes SP, Tsai LJ, et al. (2024). “Real-world clinical and economic outcomes for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer enrolled in a clinical trial following comprehensive genomic profiling via liquid biopsy.” J Manag Care Spec Pharm. 2024 Jul;30(7):660-671. doi: 10.18553/jmcp.2024.30.7.660. PMID: 38950156.
