The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) released an evidence-based scale that optimizes the selection of targeted cancer therapies. ESCAT (ESMO Scale for Clinical Actionability of Molecular Targets) was collaboratively developed by cancer specialists in Europe and North America and categorizes alterations in tumor DNA according to their relevance as markers for selecting patients for targeted treatment.
The scale may more easily identify patients with cancer who are likely to respond to precision medicines and lead to more cost-effective courses of treatment.
A framework to rank genomic alterations as targets for cancer #precisionmedicine: the @myESMO Scale for Clinical Actionability of molecular Targets (ESCAT) online now https://t.co/BbmCMQKhEG @FAndreMD @quimmateo @CharlesSwanton @rdienstmann
— Annals of Oncology (@Annals_Oncology) August 21, 2018
The grading system has six levels of clinical evidence for molecular targets:
- Tier I: Targets ready for implementation in routine clinical decisions.
- Tier II: Investigational targets that likely define a patient population that benefits from a targeted drug but additional data are needed.
- Tier III: Clinical benefit previously demonstrated in other tumor types or for similar molecular targets.
- Tier IV: Preclinical evidence of actionability.
- Tier V: Evidence supporting co-targeting approaches.
- Tier X: Lack of evidence for actionability.
The scale is the first to include all potential targeted cancer medications and allows mutations to be upgraded or downgraded in response to newly available data.
Information about ESCAT was published in the Annals of Oncology.
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Source: Annals of Oncology
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