45% of cancer patients have mutations treatable with available targeted drugs

Data on genetic mutations of cancer patients treated in our country have been published for the first time. This is Rational (The Italian Register of Actionable Mutations) and is based on a study involving over 730 men and women, affected by different forms of cancer, being treated at 44 centers. In total, 45% of patients have specific mutations for which drugs are already approved by the Italian regulatory body, or in the experimental phase. But only 11% of them manage to get treatment. The study was conducted under the auspices of FICOG (Federation of Italian Cooperative Oncology Groups) and the results are published in the European Journal of Cancer.

The aim of the new survey is also to photograph the Italian situation with respect to the use of next-generation genetic sequencing tests (NGS). They are tests that "allow a better identification of all mutations of a tumor and therefore favor access to new molecular drugs - underlines Nicola Normanno, director of the Translational Research Department of the National Cancer Institute Pascale of Naples and scientific director of the study -. However, their use is still low, especially that of tests with 'large panels'".

It is very interesting, he points out, "also to have identified the presence of mutations that can be associated with a risk of certain neoplasms. From these it is possible to start a preventive activity by subjecting the patient's family members to genetic tests able to highlight the possible development of an oncological pathology ".

However, a critical issue emerges from the data: only 11% of patients who have obtained genomic profiling are able to receive the targeted therapies available. This "focuses on an increasingly relevant problem today - says Carmine Pinto, president of Ficog - namely how to guarantee access to off-label drugs on the basis of a molecular alteration. An Aifa reference indication is required. Precision oncology is now a consolidated reality in the fight against many cancers and the Italian health system can be at the forefront also in this sector but there is a need as soon as possible - he concludes - for new rules to improve the prospects of patients ".