Dr. Perez-Soler on Efficiency of NGS in Lung Cancer

Roman Perez-Soler, MD, chairman of the Department of Oncology and chief of the Division of Medical Oncology at Montefiore Medical Center, discusses the efficiency of next-generation sequencing (NGS) in lung cancer.

NGS testing is something that should be done in all patients with lung cancer, Perez-Soler stresses. Drug prices continue to rise in oncology and this is creating a lot of concern. However, the reality is that NGS could be a significant cost-effective solution. NGS will soon be as prominent as PET-CT scans. As soon as a patient is diagnosed, the next step should be NGS before any additional questions, he says.

There are some very rare abnormalities that can be picked up by NGS. Payers need to be convinced to cover this type of practice, and community oncologists need to understand that this should be part of routine practice. If NGS leads to the right treatment for a patient, it is a cost-effective strategy because it will eliminate the need for unnecessary hospitalization and other expensive factors.