Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28558785›Full record

ArticleBMC medical informatics and decision making2017

Clinical decisions surrounding genomic and proteomic testing among United States veterans treated for lung cancer within the Veterans Health Administration.

Olga Efimova, Brygida Berse, Daniel W Denhalter, Scott L DuVall, Kelly K Filipski, Michael Icardi, Michael J Kelley, Julie A Lynch

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC medical informatics and decision making, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
0.4field-weighted citation impact, top 34% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 7 institutions in 1 country.

Olga EfimovaDepartment of Veterans Affairs Salt Lake City Health Care System, 500 Foothill Drive, Salt Lake City, UT, 84148, USA.
Brygida BerseBoston University School of Medicine, 715 Albany Street, Boston, MA, 02118, USA.
Daniel W DenhalterDepartment of Veterans Affairs Salt Lake City Health Care System, 500 Foothill Drive, Salt Lake City, UT, 84148, USA.
Scott L DuVallDepartment of Veterans Affairs Salt Lake City Health Care System, 500 Foothill Drive, Salt Lake City, UT, 84148, USA.
Kelly K FilipskiNational Cancer Institute, NIH, 9609 Medical Center Dr, Rockville, MD, 20850, USA.
Michael IcardiUniversity of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, 200 Hawkins Drive, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA.
Michael J KelleyDurham VA Medical Center, 508 Fulton St, Durham, NC, 27705, USA.
Julie A LynchDepartment of Veterans Affairs Salt Lake City Health Care System, 500 Foothill Drive, Salt Lake City, UT, 84148, USA. Julie.Lynch@va.gov.
VA Salt Lake City Healthcare System · USBedford VA Research Corporation · USBoston University · USDurham VA Medical Center · USIowa City VA Medical Center · USNational Cancer Institute · USUniversity of Utah · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCurrent clinical guidelines recommend epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutational testing in patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) to predict the benefit of the tyrosine kinase inhibitor erlotinib as first-line treatment. Proteomic (VeriStrat) testing is recommended for patients with EGFR negative or unknown status when erlotinib is being considered. Departure from this clinical algorithm can increase costs and may result in worse outcomes. We examined EGFR and proteomic testing among patients with NSCLC within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). We explored adherence to guidelines and the impact of test results on treatment decisions and cost of care.

methodsProteomic and EGFR test results from 2013 to 2015 were merged with VA electronic health records and pharmacy data. Chart reviews were conducted. Cases were categorized based on the appropriateness of testing and treatment.

resultsOf the 69 patients with NSCLC who underwent proteomic testing, 33 (48%) were EGFR-negative and 36 (52%) did not have documented EGFR status. We analyzed 138 clinical decisions surrounding EGFR/proteomic testing and erlotinib treatment. Most decisions (105, or 76%) were concordant with clinical practice guidelines. However, for 24 (17%) decisions documentation of testing or justification of treatment was inadequate, and 9 (7%) decisions represented clear departures from guidelines.

conclusionEGFR testing, the least expensive clinical intervention analyzed in this study, was significantly underutilized or undocumented. The records of more than half of the patients lacked information on EGFR status. Our analysis illustrated several clinical scenarios where the timing of proteomic testing and erlotinib diverged from the recommended algorithm, resulting in excessive costs of care with no documented improvements in health outcomes.

Indexed as

GenomicsPolymorphism, GeneticProteomicsUnited States Department of Veterans AffairsAgedAged, 80 and overCarcinoma, Non-Small-Cell LungDecision MakingElectronic Health RecordsErbB ReceptorsHumansLung NeoplasmsMedical AuditMiddle AgedRetrospective StudiesUnited StatesErbB ReceptorsBiomarkerClinical decision supportEpidermal growth factor receptorErlotinibGenomicNon-small cell lung cancerProteomicTesting algorithmTyrosine kinase inhibitorVeriStrat

Identifiers

PMID28558785
PMCPMC5450357
OpenAlexW2618235946

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.