NGS for oncology
in Colombia

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is rapidly evolving technology that has shown impactful results, and most oncologists have received limited training in genomics. NGS has demonstrated utility for a more precise diagnosis, guided targeted treatments, anticipation of tumor progression or prognosis, and other benefits. However, despite all these benefits, clinicians are faced with the challenge of understanding how to effectively use NGS is their clinical practice. Furthermore, the lack of consensus regarding the clinical application, the wide variety of assay and panels for testing, the volume of bioinformatics data reported, and the interpretation of those reports make the concept of NGS even more intricate for practitioners.

NGS has been consistently used in lung cancer where it has shown benefits with early testing, especially for aggressive cancers. For example, reflex testing including multiple genes has been shown to save valuable biopsy tissue and to reduce time to treatment for this patient group. Other instances like this have also been seen in both breast cancer and cancers with unknown primary origin. Additionally, NGS has the ability to screen for a broader set of variants in one complete test, making the most efficient use of limited biopsy tissue and when multiple genes are tested, greater cost-effectiveness has been shown for NGS compared with sequential single-gene testing modalities. Given an increase in clinically validated biomarkers and a reduction in cost and testing time, the benefits of NGS in many aggressive cancers are expected to continue to grow.

In November 2020, AHF convened a meeting of Colombian experts on the NGS applicability in Colombia via Zoom to develop recommendations for increasing the early diagnosis, treatment, and effective management of lung, breast, and unknown primary cancers in the country through the review of literature on NGS. The manuscript entitled “NGS in Lung, Breast, and Unknown Primary Cancer in Colombia: A Multidisciplinary Consensus on Challenges and Opportunities” has been published in JCO Global Oncology. Click here to read full article.