Cota Publishes New Study Showing Some Lung Cancer Patients Are Being Left Behind in Genomic Revolution

NEW YORK, Jan 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Cota, the leading data and technology platform for value-based precision medicine, today announced the release of a new lung cancer study conducted jointly with Novartis that compares real-world practice patterns of genetic testing of EGFR/ALK mutations versus published guidelines. This study was presented at the Association of Molecular Pathology annual meeting which took place November 10-12th in Charlotte, NC.

"Precision Oncology" calls for detailed diagnostic testing to direct treatment strategies. In lung cancer recognition of genomic mutations involving either EGFR or ALK have led to the development of specific targeted oral therapies which may improve survival outcomes. Current pathology guidelines (2013 CAP/IASLC/AMP joint guidelines) call for genomic testing for EGFR/ALK mutations in all patients with stage IV non-small cell lung cancer. In this retrospective analysis of 696 records of patients with advanced lung cancer treated by 90 community oncologists, 257 patients (35% of total) did not undergo the guideline recommended testing. While valid reasons for not testing were identified in some, 124 patients (18% of total) received traditional chemotherapy without documented genomic testing for EGFR and ALK.

"Nearly one in five lung cancer patients received chemotherapy without appropriate testing for genomic mutations. Our study highlights a significant deviation from evidence based guidelines.  Many of these patients might have been candidates for targeted therapies that may increase average survivals," said Dr. Stuart Goldberg, Cota's Chief Medical Officer. "We're in the midst of a genomic revolution in cancer treatment, but we have to ensure that appropriate molecular diagnostic testing is making its way into community practices so that the new cancer therapies can be tailored to the right patient."

All patient data for this study was sourced from Cota's database, and was analyzed using Cota's analysis and visualization platform. This study is part of an increasing volume of scientific contributions utilizing real-world evidence powered by Cota's data and technology.

About Cota:
Cota is a technology platform that enables providers, payers, and life science companies involved in diagnosing and treating complex diseases to optimize the outcomes of individual patients and lower the overall cost of the patient population served. It is powered by the patented Cota Nodal Address™ (CNA) system, a unique digital classification methodology built by leading physicians and data scientists. The CNA is the first and only system that precisely categorizes patient factors, their diseases and intended therapies, enabling precision medicine at scale.

Cota's technology enriches raw medical records to create research-grade data, and joins it with a suite of analysis, visualization, and management tools. This enables providers, payers, and life sciences companies to analyze, report on, and research outcomes, costs, treatments, and quality at any granularity and stage of the patient journey. The result is a constantly improving system that merges technology and science to help improve the lives of patients everywhere.

Media Contact: Matthew Levin, Email: [email protected], Phone: +1 (646) 543-2682

SOURCE Cota

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