Transitioning the Molecular Tumor Board from Proof of Concept to Clinical Routine: A German Single-Center Analysis

Molecular precision oncology faces two major challenges: first, to identify relevant and actionable molecular variants in a rapidly changing field and second, to provide access to a broad patient population. Here, we report a four-year experience of the Molecular Tumor Board (MTB) of the Comprehensive Cancer Center Freiburg (Germany) including workflows and process optimizations. This retrospective single-center study includes data on 488 patients enrolled in the MTB from February 2015 through December 2018. Recommendations include individual molecular diagnostics, molecular stratified therapies, assessment of treatment adherence and patient outcomes including overall survival. The majority of MTB patients presented with stage IV oncologic malignancies (90.6%) and underwent an average of 2.1 previous lines of therapy. Individual diagnostic recommendations were given to 487 patients (99.8%). A treatment recommendation was given in 264 of all cases (54.1%) which included a molecularly matched treatment in 212 patients (43.4%). The 264 treatment recommendations were implemented in 76 patients (28.8%). Stable disease was observed in 19 patients (25.0%), 17 had partial response (22.4%) and five showed a complete remission (6.6%). An objective response was achieved in 28.9% of cases with implemented recommendations and for 4.5% of the total population (22 of 488 patients). By optimizing the MTB workflow, case-discussions per session increased significantly while treatment adherence and outcome remained stable over time. Our data demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of molecular-guided personalized therapy for cancer patients in a clinical routine setting showing a low but robust and durable disease control rate over time.

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The impact of clinical decision making in a molecular tumor board at a tertiary care center.

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.2021.39.15_suppl.3128 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽

pp. 3128-3128

Author(s):

Meena Sadaps ◽

Kathryn Demski ◽

Ying Ni ◽

Vicky Konig ◽

Brandie Leach ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Clinical Decision Making ◽

Clinical Decision ◽

Genetic Counselors ◽

Tumor Board ◽

Treatment Recommendation ◽

Precision Oncology ◽

Off Label ◽

Tumor Boards ◽

Molecular Tumor Board

3128 Background: Multidisciplinary molecular tumor boards were first established with the onset of precision oncology (PO), as many clinicians were unfamiliar with the interpretation and incorporation of the information into clinical practice. PO has since rapidly evolved and integrated itself into standard of care practices for most cancer patients, yet molecular tumor boards have not grown accordingly and in fact some have been discontinued. There remains a paucity of data in regards to the value and impact of molecular tumor board discussions themselves. We previously reported on our longitudinal experiences in PO ( Sadaps et al, 2018), focusing on the therapeutic impact of matched therapy. Here, we report on the utility of our molecular tumor board in clinical decision making. Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of patients seen at Cleveland Clinic with a solid tumor malignancy who had large panel, next-generation-sequencing (NGS) performed via any commercial platform from November 2019-January 2021. Cases were filtered through a local therapeutic algorithm and then reviewed individually. Initial review was performed by a core genomics committee comprised of 2 oncologists and 2 genetic counselors. Interesting and/or complex cases were flagged for discussion at our bimonthly molecular tumor board, which is regularly attended by medical oncologists, pathologists, genetic counselors, bioinformaticians, and patient care coordinators. Data analyzed included categorization of treatment recommendations and the percentage of cases for which initial recommendations were changed based on tumor board discussion. Results: Of 782 total cases, 575 (73.5%) had a clinically relevant genomics tumor board (GTB) recommendation as compared to 51.7% from our previously reported study. 16.7% of patients had on label recommendation(s) and 86.4% had off label/ clinical trial recommendation(s). 179 (22.9%) patients were recommended for genetic counseling (GC). During our bimonthly GTB, we discussed 173 (22.1%) of these cases. Of the discussed cases, the most common tumor types were hepatobiliary (18.5%), lower gastrointestinal (17.3%), and breast (16.2%). Topics of discussion at GTB included such things as pathologic/histologic/molecular testing, prioritization of available trials, appropriateness of an off label therapy, and need for a genetics consult. Discussion at GTB resulted in a change in treatment recommendation in 63 (36.4%) cases. Conclusions: Discussions from multidisciplinary molecular tumor board impacted treatment decisions for our patients. Referral to GC was also common and should be considered an integral part of somatic sequencing review. Molecular tumor boards remain a crucial platform for treatment guidance and clinical management, especially given the increase in “actionability” over the years due to newly discovered targets and targeted therapies in this rapidly evolving field.

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Impact of Molecular Tumor Board (MTB) on precision oncology in a community setting

Gynecologic Oncology ◽

10.1016/s0090-8258(21)00987-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 162 ◽

pp. S180

Author(s):

Adam ElNaggar ◽

Gregory Vidal ◽

Ari VanderWalde ◽

Lee Schwartzberg ◽

Axel Grothey ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Community Setting ◽

Tumor Board ◽

Precision Oncology ◽

Molecular Tumor Board

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The Johns Hopkins Molecular Tumor Board Precision Oncology elective for Medical Oncology fellows.

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.2021.39.15_suppl.11035 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽

pp. 11035-11035

Author(s):

Kristen Marrone ◽

Jessica Tao ◽

Jenna VanLiere Canzoniero ◽

Paola Ghanem ◽

Emily Nizialek ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Precision Medicine ◽

Clinical Decision Making ◽

Cancer Genomics ◽

Medical Oncology ◽

Clinical Decision ◽

Tumor Board ◽

Precision Oncology ◽

Adaptive Expertise ◽

Molecular Tumor Board

11035 Background: The accelerated impact of next generation sequencing (NGS) in clinical decision making requires the integration of cancer genomics and precision oncology focused training into medical oncology education. The Johns Hopkins Molecular Tumor Board (JH MTB) is a multi-disciplinary effort focused on integration of NGS findings with critical evidence interpretation to generate personalized recommendations tailored to the genetic footprint of individual patients. Methods: The JH MTB and the Medical Oncology Fellowship Program have developed a 3-month precision oncology elective for fellows in their research years. Commencing fall of 2020, the goals of this elective are to enhance the understanding of NGS platforms and findings, advance the interpretation and characterization of molecular assay outputs by use of mutation annotators and knowledgebases and ultimately master the art of matching NGS findings with available therapies. Fellow integration into the MTB focuses on mentored case-based learning in mutation characterization and ranking by levels of evidence for actionability, with culmination in form of verbal presentations and written summary reports of final MTB recommendations. A mixed methods questionnaire was administered to evaluate progress since elective initiation. Results: Three learners who have participated as of February 2021 were included. Of the two who had completed the MTB elective, each have presented at least 10 cases, with at least 1 scholarly publication planned. All indicated strong agreement that MTB elective had increased their comfort with interpreting clinical NGS reports as well as the use of knowledgebases and variant annotators. Exposure to experts in the field of molecular precision oncology, identification of resources necessary to interpret clinical NGS reports, development of ability to critically assess various NGS platforms, and gained familiarity with computational analyses relevant to clinical decision making were noted as strengths of the MTB elective. Areas of improvement included ongoing initiatives that involve streamlining variant annotation and transcription of information for written reports. Conclusions: A longitudinal elective in the JHU MTB has been found to be preliminarily effective in promoting knowledge mastery and creating academic opportunities related to the clinical application of precision medicine. Future directions will include leveraging of the MTB infrastructure for research projects, learner integration into computational laboratory meetings, and expansion of the MTB curriculum to include different levels of learners from multiple medical education programs. Continued elective participation will be key to understanding how best to facilitate adaptive expertise in assigning clinical relevance to genomic findings, ultimately improving precision medicine delivery in patient care and trial development.

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Comparative Analysis of Public Knowledge Bases for Precision Oncology

JCO Precision Oncology ◽

10.1200/po.18.00371 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 1-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Steffen Pallarz ◽

Manuela Benary ◽

Mario Lamping ◽

Damian Rieke ◽

Johannes Starlinger ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Genetic Alterations ◽

Knowledge Bases ◽

Tumor Board ◽

Comprehensive Cancer Center ◽

Cancer Center ◽

Accurate Information ◽

Precision Oncology ◽

Cancer Genes ◽

Qualitative Comparison ◽

Data Set

PURPOSE Precision oncology depends on the availability of up-to-date, comprehensive, and accurate information about associations between genetic variants and therapeutic options. Recently, a number of knowledge bases (KBs) have been developed that gather such information on the basis of expert curation of the scientific literature. We performed a quantitative and qualitative comparison of Clinical Interpretations of Variants in Cancer, OncoKB, Cancer Gene Census, Database of Curated Mutations, CGI Biomarkers (the cancer genome interpreter biomarker database), Tumor Alterations Relevant for Genomics-Driven Therapy, and the Precision Medicine Knowledge Base. METHODS We downloaded each KB and restructured their content to describe variants, genes, drugs, and gene-drug associations in a common format. We normalized gene names to Entrez Gene IDs and drug names to ChEMBL and DrugBank IDs. For the analysis of clinically relevant gene-drug associations, we obtained lists of genes affected by genetic alterations and putative drug therapies for 113 patients with cancer whose cases were presented at the Molecular Tumor Board (MTB) of the Charité Comprehensive Cancer Center. RESULTS Our analysis revealed that the KBs are largely overlapping but also that each source harbors a notable amount of unique information. Although some KBs cover more genes, others contain more data about gene-drug associations. Retrospective comparisons with findings of the Charitè MTB at the gene level showed that use of multiple KBs may considerably improve retrieval results. The relative importance of a KB in terms of cancer genes was assessed in more detail by logistic regression, which revealed that all but one source had a notable impact on result quality. We confirmed these findings using a second data set obtained from an independent MTB. CONCLUSION To date, none of the existing publicly available KBs on gene-drug associations in precision oncology fully subsumes the others, but all of them exhibit specific strengths and weaknesses. Consideration of multiple KBs, therefore, is essential to obtain comprehensive results.

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Genomics and translational precision oncology for 803 patients with biliary tract cancer.

Journal of Clinical Oncology ◽

10.1200/jco.2020.38.15_suppl.4589 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 38 (15_suppl) ◽

pp. 4589-4589

Author(s):

Jianzhen Lin ◽

Xu Yang ◽

Yinghao Cao ◽

Guangyu Li ◽

Songhui Zhao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Biliary Tract ◽

Biliary Tract Cancer ◽

Targeted Therapies ◽

Objective Response ◽

Disease Free Survival ◽

Tumor Board ◽

Precision Oncology ◽

Free Survival ◽

Tract Cancer ◽

Incidence And Mortality

4589 Background: Both incidence and mortality of biliary tract cancer (BTC) are increasing, and BTCs are characterized by poor prognosis and limited antitumoral treatments. There is no well-received regimen as the non-first-line treatment in patients with advanced BTCs, leading to the urgency of umbrella-setting personalized therapies according to genomic alterations. Methods: We performed genomic sequencing in a total of 803 BTCs, including 160 patients with whole-exome sequencing and 643 patients with hybrid capture–based comprehensive genomic profiling. Our molecular tumor board developed precise targeted therapies for patients with actionable targets. Results: Overall, the median tumor mutation burden was 3.0 (IQR: 0.8-6.1) Mut/Mb, with 10.5% patients of hypermutated BTCs. The most frequently mutated genes included TP53 (51%), KRAS (23%), ARID1A (16%) and SMAD4 (11%). The most common genes with significantly amplified oncogenes were CCND1 (6.97%), MET (6.72%) and MDM2 (6.6%), while the frequently deleted tumor-suppressor genes are CDKN2A (5.73%) and CDKN2B (5.35%). The mutational map of BTCs highlighted pathways of receptor-tyrosine kinase (RTK)/RAS and p53 signaling were frequently altered. Somatic truncating mutations of mismatch repair genes were identified in 6.1% (49/803) of patients, and germline pathogenic mutations in DNA damage response genes occurred in 8% (64/803) of BTCs. In addition, we demonstrate the amplified chromosomal focal at 7q31.2 was an oncogenic factor and it independently predicts both disease-free survival and overall survival of BTC patients. When molecular screening was linked to targeted therapies, 25.4% (204/803) of patients could match biomarker-assigned drug treatment (BADT). The frequent actionable biomarkers included amplifications of ERBB2 and MET, FGFR2/3 fusions and IDH1 mutations. For 46 patients with refractory BTCs received BADT, the objective response rate was 26.1%, with a median progression-free survival (mPFS) of 5.0 (95%CI: 3.5-6.5) months, and 56.8% patients achieved a ≥1.3 ratio of PFS2/PFS1. 4 of 6 (67%) patients with high microsatellite instability (MSI-H) BTCs had a responsive status after immunotherapy of PD1 inhibitor, confirming that MSI-H status was a robust biomarker of anti-PD1 treatments. Conclusions: Our study established the largest cohort in Chinese BTC patients to investigate the tumor mutational profiling and its translational clinical applications. Clinical trial information: NCT02715089 .

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Individualized Molecular Profiling for Allocation to Clinical Trials Singapore Study—An Asian Tertiary Cancer Center Experience

JCO Precision Oncology ◽

10.1200/po.20.00261 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 859-875

Author(s):

Amanda O. L. Seet ◽

Aaron C. Tan ◽

Tira J. Tan ◽

Matthew C. H. Ng ◽

David W. M. Tai ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Clinical Trial ◽

Clinical Trials ◽

Tumor Tissue ◽

Molecular Profiling ◽

Tumor Board ◽

Cancer Center ◽

Precision Oncology ◽

Molecular Tumor Board ◽

Tumor Types ◽

Tertiary Cancer Center

PURPOSE Precision oncology has transformed the management of advanced cancers through implementation of advanced molecular profiling technologies to identify increasingly defined subsets of patients and match them to appropriate therapy. We report outcomes of a prospective molecular profiling study in a high-volume Asian tertiary cancer center. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients with advanced cancer were enrolled onto a prospective protocol for genomic profiling, the Individualized Molecular Profiling for Allocation to Clinical Trials Singapore study, at the National Cancer Center Singapore. Primary objective was to identify molecular biomarkers in patient's tumors for allocation to clinical trials. The study commenced in February 2012 and is ongoing, with the results of all patients who underwent multiplex next-generation sequencing (NGS) testing until December 2018 presented here. The results were discussed at a molecular tumor board where recommendations for allocation to biomarker-directed trials or targeted therapies were made. RESULTS One thousand fifteen patients were enrolled with a median age of 58 years (range 20-83 years). Most common tumor types were lung adenocarcinoma (26%), colorectal cancer (15%), and breast cancer (12%). A total of 1,064 NGS assays were performed, on fresh tumor tissue for 369 (35%) and archival tumor tissue for 687 (65%) assays. TP53 (39%) alterations were most common, followed by EGFR (21%), KRAS (14%), and PIK3CA (10%). Of 405 NGS assays with potentially actionable alterations, 111 (27%) were allocated to a clinical trial after molecular tumor board and 20 (4.9%) were enrolled on a molecularly matched clinical trial. Gene fusions were detected in 23 of 311 (7%) patients tested, including rare fusions in new tumor types and known fusions in rare tumors. CONCLUSION Individualized Molecular Profiling for Allocation to Clinical Trials Singapore demonstrates the feasibility of a prospective broad molecular profiling program in an Asian tertiary cancer center, with the ability to develop and adapt to a dynamic landscape of precision oncology.

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Implementation and Clinical Utility of an Integrated Academic-Community Regional Molecular Tumor Board

JCO Precision Oncology ◽

10.1200/po.16.00022 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 1-10 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Mark E. Burkard ◽

Dustin A. Deming ◽

Benjamin M. Parsons ◽

Paraic A. Kenny ◽

Marissa R. Schuh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Clinical Trials ◽

Precision Medicine ◽

Clinical Utility ◽

Journal Club ◽

Academic Community ◽

Tumor Board ◽

Observational Research ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Precision Oncology ◽

Molecular Tumor Board

Purpose Precision oncology develops and implements evidence-based personalized therapies that are based on specific genetic targets within each tumor. However, a major challenge that remains is the provision of a standardized, up-to-date, and evidenced-based precision medicine initiative across a geographic region. Materials and Methods We developed a statewide molecular tumor board that integrates academic and community oncology practices. The Precision Medicine Molecular Tumor Board (PMMTB) has three components: a biweekly Web-based teleconference tumor board meeting provided as a free clinical service, an observational research registry, and a monthly journal club to establish and revise evidence-based guidelines for off-label therapies. The PMMTB allows for flexible and rapid implementation of treatment, uniformity in practice, and the ability to track outcomes. Results We describe the implementation of the PMMTB and its first year of activity. Seventy-seven patient cases were presented, 48 were enrolled in a registry, and 38 had recommendations and clinical follow-up. The 38 subjects had diverse solid tumors (lung, 45%; GI, 21%; breast, 13%; other, 21%). Of these subjects, targeted therapy was recommended for 32 (84%). Clinical trials were identified for 24 subjects (63%), and nontrial targeted medicines for 16 (42%). Nine subjects (28%) received recommended therapy with a response rate of 17% (one of six) and a clinical benefit rate (partial response + stable disease) of 38% (three of eight). Although clinical trials often were identified, patients rarely enrolled. Conclusion The PMMTB provides a model for a regional molecular tumor board with clinical utility. This work highlights the need for outcome registries and improved access to clinical trials to pragmatically implement precision oncology.

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A virtual molecular tumor board to improve efficiency and scalability of delivering precision oncology to physicians and their patients

JAMIA Open ◽

10.1093/jamiaopen/ooz045 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2 (4) ◽

pp. 505-515 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Michael J Pishvaian ◽

Edik M Blais ◽

R Joseph Bender ◽

Shruti Rao ◽

Simina M Boca ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Treatment Plan ◽

Critical Role ◽

Tumor Board ◽

Care Process ◽

Molecular Profile ◽

Molecular Testing ◽

Precision Oncology ◽

Therapy Options ◽

Scoring Model ◽

Molecular Tumor Board

Abstract Objectives Scalable informatics solutions that provide molecularly tailored treatment recommendations to clinicians are needed to streamline precision oncology in care settings. Materials and Methods We developed a cloud-based virtual molecular tumor board (VMTB) platform that included a knowledgebase, scoring model, rules engine, an asynchronous virtual chat room and a reporting tool that generated a treatment plan for each of the 1725 patients based on their molecular profile, previous treatment history, structured trial eligibility criteria, clinically relevant cancer gene-variant assertions, biomarker-treatment associations, and current treatment guidelines. The VMTB systematically allows clinician users to combine expert-curated data and structured data from clinical charts along with molecular testing data to develop consensus on treatments, especially those that require off-label and clinical trial considerations. Results The VMTB was used as part of the cancer care process for a focused subset of 1725 patients referred by advocacy organizations wherein resultant personalized reports were successfully delivered to treating oncologists. Median turnaround time from data receipt to report delivery decreased from 14 days to 4 days over 4 years while the volume of cases increased nearly 2-fold each year. Using a novel scoring model for ranking therapy options, oncologists chose to implement the VMTB-derived therapies over others, except when pursuing immunotherapy options without molecular support. Discussion VMTBs will play an increasingly critical role in precision oncology as the compendium of biomarkers and associated therapy options available to a patient continues to expand. Conclusion Further development of such clinical augmentation tools that systematically combine patient-derived molecular data, real-world evidence from electronic health records and expert curated knowledgebases on biomarkers with computational tools for ranking best treatments can support care pathways at point of care.

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