Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the United States, with a growing number of young adults receiving this life-altering diagnosis. Precision oncology involves personalizing treatment to the individual genetic makeup of a patient’s tumor. Through biomarker testing, or molecular profiling, health care providers can identify a type of cancer, how aggressive it is and how it might respond to certain treatments. This enables them to diagnose cancer more accurately and recommend effective therapy earlier in the treatment journey.  

By 2034, the U.S. precision medicine market will reach as much as $469.16 billion. And oncology leads the way when it comes to implementing precision medicine efforts, with about 60% of oncology drugs being precision therapies and almost a third of oncology trials focusing on precision medicine.  

In the latest episode of the Pharmacy Friends podcast, “A look at next-gen oncology,” join host Maryam Tabatabai, PharmD, vice president of clinical information, and guests Simone Ndujiuba, PharmD, BCOP, senior director, product development, oncology at Prime Therapeutics (Prime), and Karan Cushman, head of brand experience, marketing and The Precision Medicine Podcast at Trapelo. Together, they discuss how precision oncology has driven a number of innovations in cancer care, and how Prime is helping to support providers and patients as they integrate these innovations into the diagnostic and treatment journey for cancer.   

“We’ve all been in a situation where, whether it’s an exam or some kind of test — be it in school or in the doctor’s office — just waiting to find out that result is incredibly stressful, and for somebody with cancer even (more) significantly so,” Ndujiuba said. “So being able to turn that around so that the provider is able to make those decisions that will guide for optimal therapy is significant and important and just incredibly valuable.”  

Shorter wait times lead to optimal patient care 

Despite innovations in cancer care, the patient journey can still be lengthy and complicated. In a study highlighted in the latest Prime Therapeutics Report, experts found it takes an average of 45 days from biomarker testing to therapy initiation for cancer patients.  

“I was diagnosed (with non-Hodgkin lymphoma) about five weeks after I had my daughter, my first child,” Cushman shared. “When you’re a busy mom, you’re not really thinking about yourself but suddenly that time, it just stood still. … So the word ‘time’ has a lot of different meanings to me.”  

That’s where Prime’s Precision Oncology product, powered by Trapelo, can help. This industry-leading product offers biomarker testing management for patients diagnosed with cancer, including targeted therapy selection for both pharmacy and medical benefit drugs. It helps decrease the time between diagnosis and effective treatment. 

“We’re at this incredible time where the pace of innovation is happening faster and faster,” Cushman said. “We have more treatments, more tests. It’s really an incredible place—great for patients, right? But as new options are cropping up all the time, clinicians are more and more, really struggling to keep up. … How can we support them in staying up with the data and all the new innovations? And so that was what Trapelo was really developed for.”  

More than 500 oncologists rely on this clinical decision support tool. Additionally, more than 1,200 total platform users across 125 locations have achieved a 98% concordance rate with treatment guidelines. Because of the platform — which generates 3,200 test decisions a month — the in-network utilization of molecular testing increased from 53% to 70%. This ultimately leads to better patient outcomes.  

Ndujiuba has previously highlighted the importance of biomarker testing in her monthly Oncology Insights content series, where she shares some of the latest innovations in cancer care.  

Pharmacy Friends is a podcast dedicated to bringing industry experts to the same table to talk about what is happening in pharmacy today, what is coming and, most importantly, what it means to you. Listen to the full episode “A look at next-gen oncology” at PrimeTherapeutics.com/Listen.