Best Practices for Bringing Liquid Biopsy In-house

Before COVID-19 lockdowns halted travel, I attended a community cancer conference in Washington D.C. last year. I had an interesting conversation with a community practice leader, Jessica, about how socioeconomic factors have a big impact on clinical outcomes. In the last few months, I have been researching value-based care innovations in cancer care. I was encouraged to find multiple examples of value-based care initiatives that also focus on reducing disparities. How are they approaching challenges of inequity in cancer care? Here are three initiatives with innovative approaches.

The COVID-19 pandemic has delayed thousands of surgical procedures across the country, including tissue biopsies needed for cancer diagnosis. But it’s also pushing demand for alternatives that allow patients to be tested for signs of tumours without even needing to enter a hospital. As part of a new pilot called Project ACTT, more than 800 Canadian cancer patients have been tested through liquid biopsies, which involve taking a blood sample and looking for signs of tumour DNA. That federally funded project, a partnership led by Vancouver-based Canexia Health, offers the potential for a more efficient alternative for cancer testing that can save hospital resources and lower the risk of infection.

Last spring’s wave of COVID-19 delays to cancer care, and a prolonged pandemic, have resulted in disturbing trends for patients that, while not unexpected, are now being quantified. Dozens of major cancer centers and organizations across the US, including the National Comprehensive Cancer Network and American Cancer Society, issued an urgent call to action: cancer screening and treatment during COVID-19 must resume at full speed and at full scale.