The Prostate Cancer Foundation Collaboration With Pan-Cancer Consortium Clarifies And Promotes Consistent Use Of Common Terms For Biomarker And Germline Genetic Testing
LOS ANGELES, July 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) has collaborated with a consortium of 41 leading patient advocacy organizations, professional societies and industry partners to publish a white paper detailing recommendations for the use of testing terminology in precision medicine for patient education throughout the cancer community. Use of consistent language will significantly improve patient awareness and understanding of potentially life-saving testing options available for both new cancer diagnoses and progression or recurrence of disease. In prostate cancer, testing is a crucial tool that may reveal additional treatment options and/or information for a man's family about their own cancer risk. Research shows that despite widespread acceptance of the importance of testing, actual testing rates lag far behind best-practice recommendations for both biomarker testing for somatic (acquired) mutations and other biomarkers, and for germline genetic testing for identifying germline (inherited) mutations (also known as variants). Analysis by The Consistent Testing Terminology Working Group (Working Group) indicates that language disparity is a primary obstacle to patient communication with providers about testing for their specific cancer type. Further, development of consistent language can increase patient understanding and communication, facilitate shared decision making, support value-based care and assure concordance in policy development. "Both types of testing – biomarker testing and genetic testing for inherited cancer risk – are important in the care of prostate cancer patients," said Dr. Andrea Miyahira, Director of Global Research and Scientific Communications at PCF. "One example is the very recent approval of medications for men with advanced prostate cancer and certain mutations in their tumor or inherited mutations that would be revealed through testing. Therefore, clear terminology and understanding between patients and providers is all the more vital. PCF supports this valuable collaboration across cancer types." The Working Group is a consortium of 20 cancer patient advocacy groups representing solid tumor and hematologic malignancies, three professional societies, and 18 pharmaceutical and diagnostic companies and testing laboratories. Over the course of many years, multiple activities, led by numerous individual patient advocacy organizations and professional societies have developed the groundwork for this effort. The Working Group has launched a multi-faceted dissemination and communications effort to ensure that its recommendations and supporting materials are widely available among all key stakeholders within the cancer ecosystem, including providers, patient advocacy organizations, guidelines agencies, payers, and policymakers. In developing its recommendations, the Working Group, first convened in 2019 by LUNGevity Foundation, identified 33 terms related to biomarker, genetic and genomic testing that were being used in patient education and clinical care within the different cancer communities. In many cases, multiple terms were used to describe the same test. Various testing modalities, the source of testing samples, and the multiplicity of gene mutations currently identifiable by testing, were contributing factors in this often-confusing overlap. In the final analysis, three umbrella descriptor terms emerged as recommendations from the Working Group's milestone exploration: "Biomarker testing" was selected as the preferred term for tests that identify characteristics, targetable findings or other test results originating from malignant tissue and blood; "genetic testing for an inherited mutation" and "genetic testing for inherited cancer risk" were selected as consensus terms for tests used to identify germline (inherited) mutations. "Far too many patients across all cancer types are still missing out on essential tests for biomarkers and inherited mutations indicating cancer risk," said Michelle Shiller, DO, AP/CP, MGP, Co-Medical Director of Genetics at Baylor Sammons Cancer Center and Staff Pathologist at Baylor University Medical Center. "With rates of biomarker testing and genetic testing for an inherited mutation at sub-optimal levels for numerous patient populations, patients are not benefiting from biomarker-directed care or not learning about their inherited cancer risk. Confusion around testing terms is a driving factor in this undertesting and ultimately has a detrimental impact on patient care." "When someone is diagnosed with cancer, they're swept into a whirlwind of bewildering words and complex, pressing decisions. Our Working Group's goal is to help calm that storm of confusion with clear and consistent language that facilitates communication and medical decision-making. A unified voice and message from providers, industry and the patient advocacy community about testing is absolutely vital to optimal cancer care," said Nikki Martin, Director of Precision Medicine Initiatives at LUNGevity Foundation. An abstract on the Working Group's recommendations was published in May 2020 as part of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting Virtual Library. The White Paper can be viewed in its entirety at http://www.commoncancertestingterms.org/. About LUNGevity Foundation Comprehensive resources include a medically vetted and patient-centric website, a toll-free HELPLine for support, the International Lung Cancer Survivorship Conference, and an easy-to-use Clinical Trial Finder, among other tools. All of these programs are to achieve our vision—a world where no one dies of lung cancer. LUNGevity Foundation is proud to be a four-star Charity Navigator organization. Please visit www.LUNGevity.org to learn more. About the Prostate Cancer Foundation Media Contact:
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