Aim & methods: This real-world study examined the association of tumor mutational burden (TMB) with clinical and healthcare utilization in adults diagnosed with advanced solid tumor 1 January 2015- 31 January 2019. Results: There were 170 patients in low-TMB group (TMB<10 mut/Mb) and 32 in high-TMB group (TMB ≥10 mut/Mb). Median overall survival was 18.8 (95% CI: 17.3-28.8) and 15.9 months (95% CI: 11.3-18.0) whereas median progression-free survival was 9.9 (95% CI: 8.6-11.4) and 7.8 months (95% CI: 3.8-12.5) for the low- and high-TMB groups, respectively. Hospitalization (49.4 vs 37.5%), emergency visit (25.3 vs 21.9%), and median overall cost of care (US$135,403 vs 87,570) were all lower in low-TMB group. Conclusion: Despite the limited sample, these data provide a historical perspective for examining real-world outcomes associated with TMB.
Keywords: clinical outcomes; community oncology; healthcare resource utilization; real-world data; treatment costs; tumor mutation burden.
Lay abstract Tumor mutational burden (TMB) is the total number of mutations found in the DNA of cancer cells. Knowing the TMB may help plan the best treatment. The goal of this study was to examine whether higher TMB is directly associated with clinical outcomes or healthcare use and costs in patients who have not received immuno-oncology treatment. This study included 202 adult patients who were diagnosed with advanced solid tumors between January 2015 and January 2019. Patients were divided into two groups based on their TMB level. The study results indicate some relationship between TMB level and real-world outcomes. Future studies with a larger sample size are needed to confirm these results.