Objective. Mutational analysis by next-generation sequencing (NGS) obtained by peripheral blood NGS has been of clinical interest to use as a minimally invasive screening tool. Our study evaluates the correlation between NGS results on peripheral blood and bone marrow in hematolymphoid disease. Method. We evaluated patients who had NGS for presumed hematologic malignancy performed on peripheral blood and bone marrow within a 1-year interval of each other. We excluded cases in which chemotherapy or bone marrow transplant occurred in the interval between the two tests. The concordance across peripheral blood and bone marrow NGS results was assessed by kappa coefficient analysis. Results. A total of 163 patients were studied. Concordance of peripheral blood and bone marrow NGS found in 150 patients (92.0%) with a kappa coefficient of 0.794 (kappa standard error 0.054) and P value for testing kappa <0.0001. Myeloid neoplasms showed concordant results in 77/78 cases (98.7%) with a kappa coefficient of 0.916. Lymphoid neoplasms showed concordant results in 26/31 cases (83.9%) with a kappa coefficient of 0.599. Nonneoplastic cases showed concordant results in 47/54 cases (87.0%) with a kappa coefficient of 0.743. Conclusion. Peripheral blood NGS is a reliable tool for mutational analysis and provides a less invasive method for screening and monitoring of the molecular profile.

PURPOSE Multidisciplinary oncology meetings, or tumor boards (TBs), ensure and facilitate communication between specialties regarding the management of cancer cases to improve patient care. The organization of TB and the preparation and presentation of patient cases are typically inefficient processes that require the exchange of patient information via e-mail, the hunting for data and images in the electronic health record, and the copying and pasting of patient data into desktop presentation software. METHODS We implemented a standards-based electronic health record–integrated application that automated several aspects of TB organization and preparation. We hypothesized that this application would increase the efficiency of TB preparation, reduce errors in patient entry, and enhance communication with the clinical team. Our experimental design used a prospective evaluation by pathologists who were timed in preparing for weekly TBs using both the new application and the conventional method. In addition, patient data entry errors associated with each method were tracked, and TB attendees completed a survey evaluating satisfaction with the new application. RESULTS The total time savings for TB preparation using the digital TB application over the conventional method was 5 hours and 19 minutes, representing a 45% reduction in preparation time ( P < .01). Survey results showed that 91% of respondents preferred the digital method and believed that it improved the flow of the TB meeting. In addition, most believed that the digital method had an impact on subsequent patient care. CONCLUSION This study provides further evidence that new electronic systems have the potential to significantly improve the overall TB paradigm by optimizing and enhancing case organization, preparation, and presentation.