Skip to main content
Premium Trial:

Request an Annual Quote

Quality Improvement Study Compares Molecular Tumor Boards, Central Consensus Recommendations

For a paper in JAMA Network Open, investigators at Japan's National Cancer Center Hospital East and other centers in Japan compare molecular tumor board (MTB) recommendations with treatment recommendations made through a central consensus at a dozen core hospitals in Japan. For the quality improvement study, the team considered MTB and central consensus treatment strategies developed for 50 simulated cancer cases informed by Cancer Genome Atlas data. The treatment recommendations were concordant 62 percent of the time, on average, though concordance reached 100 percent for colorectal cancer cases marked by specific molecular alterations and variants supported by high levels of evidence. On the other hand, the authors saw low MTB and central consensus concordance for cervical cancer cases or cases involving variants with lower evidence levels. "The findings of this study suggest that genomically matched treatment recommendations differ among MTBs, particularly in genomic alterations with low evidence levels wherein treatment is being investigated," the authors report. "Sharing information on matched therapy for low evidence levels may be needed to improve the quality of MTBs."

The Scan

Positive Framing of Genetic Studies Can Spark Mistrust Among Underrepresented Groups

Researchers in Human Genetics and Genomics Advances report that how researchers describe genomic studies may alienate potential participants.

Small Study of Gene Editing to Treat Sickle Cell Disease

In a Novartis-sponsored study in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers found that a CRISPR-Cas9-based treatment targeting promoters of genes encoding fetal hemoglobin could reduce disease symptoms.

Gut Microbiome Changes Appear in Infants Before They Develop Eczema, Study Finds

Researchers report in mSystems that infants experienced an enrichment in Clostridium sensu stricto 1 and Finegoldia and a depletion of Bacteroides before developing eczema.

Acute Myeloid Leukemia Treatment Specificity Enhanced With Stem Cell Editing

A study in Nature suggests epitope editing in donor stem cells prior to bone marrow transplants can stave off toxicity when targeting acute myeloid leukemia with immunotherapy.