Dr. Iams on Establishing the Clinical Utility of ctDNA Testing in Lung Cancer

Wade T. Iams, MD, assistant professor of medicine, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, discusses the need to establish the clinical utility of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) testing in lung cancer.

Clinical validity is how representative a specific measurement is of what information is trying to be captured, Iams explains. Measurements of clinical validity include sensitivity, specificity, and positive or negative predictive values of clinical measurements like laboratory values, radiography, or physical exam findings.

ctDNA testing has established clinical validity in a variety of circumstances and has specific clinical applications, Iams says. However, the clinical utility of ctDNA remains unestablished as the field has not proven that acting on the clinically valid measurements of ctDNA testing improves outcomes and prolongs survival for patients with lung cancer, Iams concludes.