Dr. Velcheti on the Importance of Real-World Data in NSCLC

Vamsidhar Velcheti, MD, the director of thoracic medical oncology at NYU Langone Health Perlmutter Cancer Center, discusses the importance of real-world data for patients with non–small cell lung cancer.

A gap can sometimes exist between clinical trial data and every day clinical practice, Velcheti says. The expectation of treatments from clinical trials following their FDA approval may not necessarily reflect outcomes in the real world, he continues. 

When physicians treat patients in clinical practice, they may not be the same as the homogeneous patient population that is normally included in clinical trials. Due to this, it is important to validate clinical trial findings in a real-world setting to ensure the treatment is most applicable, Velcheti concludes.