Majority of Metastatic Colorectal Cancer Patients Lack KRAS Testing

October 2013
article authored by Christina Frangou

The majority of patients newly diagnosed with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) in the United States have not undergone KRAS testing, despite recommendations to the contrary.

Only 47.5% of patients with mCRC who were diagnosed between Jan. 1 2008 and Dec. 31, 2011 underwent KRAS testing.

“This is extremely surprising,” said Sanjay Goel, MD, associate professor of medicine (oncology), Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Jack D. Weller Hospital, New York City, who was not affiliated with the study. “A small fraction of patients are being tested. This is not standard of care practice.”

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