Diaceutics Report Reveals Stalled Progress in Lung Cancer Care
More than 65% of eligible advanced non-small cell lung cancer (aNSCLC) patients in the US did not receive the most appropriate treatment in 2023, a figure virtually unchanged from 64.4% in 2019, according to an updated Clinical Practice Gaps report from Diaceutics.
The study, which analyzed real-world data from over 35,800 newly diagnosed aNSCLC patients, highlights a troubling shift in where the healthcare system is failing these patients.
"The problem has shifted from testing to treatment decision-making."
— Susanne Munksted, Chief Precision Medicine Officer, Diaceutics
Key Findings
- Patient loss at the treatment decision stage surged from 29.2% in 2019 to 43.3% in 2023, indicating that while more patients are being diagnosed, fewer are receiving the correct therapy.
- Losses earlier in the diagnostic pathway decreased, suggesting that improvements in biomarker testing are yielding results.
- 86% of oncologists form treatment plans before full biomarker results are available, exposing a critical gap in the decision-making process.
- Only 43% consistently wait for results before initiating first-line therapy, meaning the majority of patients may start suboptimal treatment.
- More than half of oncologists do not consistently act on biomarker report recommendations, further widening the treatment gap.
Why This Is Happening
Susanne Munksted attributed the trend to increasing complexity and time pressure on clinicians. As the number of actionable biomarkers and targeted therapies grows, the decision-making burden on oncologists has intensified, shifting the bottleneck from testing to treatment selection.
The report calls for systemic changes to support physician decision-making at the point of care, emphasizing that without new tools or workflows, the gap will likely persist.