Dr Mike Lattanzi: Precision Oncology Options and Increasing Rates of Prostate Cancer

Mike Lattanzi, MD, genitourinary medical oncologist at Texas Oncology, discusses the use of next-generation sequencing when treating an increasing number of patients with genitourinary diseases.

Transcript

Is payer coverage for genomic testing keeping pace with the precision oncology options in genitourinary disease?

I'm fortunate enough to be able to send next-generation sequencing on virtually all of my patients with metastatic disease. And I routinely send both tissue-based as well as liquid cell-free DNA next-generation sequencing for all patients with metastatic GU [genitourinary] cancers.

The most recent annual report on cancer statistics from the American Cancer Society showed a rise in prostate cancer after years of decline. What are your thoughts on why prostate cancer is increasing?

There's recently been an increase in the incidence of prostate cancer diagnoses as well as a trend toward later-stage diagnoses, which a lot of us feel is due to diminished screening during the COVID-19 pandemic. So, these data are just a reminder to always be screening patients in a guideline-appropriate fashion moving forward.