Top 5 Most-Read Articles in Precision Oncology for 2021

The most-read articles of 2021 for precision oncology included studies into the role of epigenetics for choosing treatments and the presence of circulating tumor DNA to predict recurrence risk, as well as an FDA approval.

Here are the 5 most-read precision oncology articles on AJMC.com in 2021.

5. Study Probes Role of Epigenetics in Precision Medicine for Lung Cancer

New modeling could help explain why some patients develop resistance to tyrosine kinase inhibitors. In a study, computer modeling that suggests how different mutations may correspond to specific drug susceptibilities could demonstrate how epigenetics can be used to select precision treatment options.

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4. Using AI to Predict Outcomes in High-grade Extrauterine Serous Carcinoma

Artificial intelligence (AI) was used to predict response of high-grade extrauterine serous carcinoma (HGSC) to adjuvant platinum chemotherapy. HGSC is a highly aggressive cancer with frequent chemotherapy resistance and a poor survival rate.

Researchers were able to use AI to discern extremes in patient response to primary platinum-based chemotherapy with high sensitivity and specificity.

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3. Presence of Postoperative ctDNA May Be Predictive of Recurrence Risk in Colorectal Cancer

Evaluating circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) status as early as within a week of surgery could aid in risk stratification of patients and decision-making for postoperative management, according to the results of a large multicenter study.

Patients who were positive for ctDNA 3 to 7 days following operation were 11 times more likely to have disease recurrence. While the patients who were positive for ctDNA had a 2-year recurrence-free survival (RFS) rate of less than 40%, patients who were negative for ctDNA had a 2-year RFS rate of 89%.

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2. Study Finds Contrasting Genomic Profiles Among Tissue Samples, Liquid Biopsies of Prostate Cancer

Comprehensive genomic profiling in a real-world setting was able to identify genomic alterations that could serve as investigational biomarkers in clinical trials for targeted therapies for advanced prostate cancer.

According to the researchers, the combination of metastatic site biopsy and liquid biopsy could identify more patients for targeted therapy in clinical trials.

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1. FDA Approves First Once-Daily Oral MET Inhibitor for Metastatic NSCLC

In February, the FDA approved tepotinib (Tepmetko) for the treatment of adult patients with metastatic non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) exon 14 skipping alterations.

The drug is the first once-daily oral Met inhibitor for this indication and it gained accelerated approval based on overall response rate and duration of response data from the phase 2 VISION trial.

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