Data Updates

How often is data updated on www.oncokb.org?

Data and website updates occur approximately monthly, though we aim to update new FDA-approvals as soon as possible.

How quickly are new FDA approvals released to www.oncokb.org?

We strive to get new FDA approvals into OncoKB as quickly as possible. New FDA approvals for biomarker-specific therapies are sent to our Clinical Genomics Annotation Committee (CGAC) for review within three business days after the OncoKB team is aware of the approval. CGAC includes MSK service chiefs and physicians with clinical expertise in their fields and scientists with specific gene and pathway expertise. CGAC has five business days to review and approve the new indication, at which time the data is entered into the OncoKB database. This data becomes available on the OncoKB website at the time of a website release, which we coordinate as early as possible but within a week of CGAC approval.

How are data updates communicated and shared?

When new data is released to www.oncokb.org, important data changes (including new or updated leveled alterations and the introduction of new genes) are dated and highlighted on the News Page and sent out to our users who are registered for our low-volume email list. The OncoKB API always reflects the current data version (https://www.oncokb.org/api/v1/info). OncoKB updates are also announced on X, formerly Twitter, via @OncoKB.

How can I suggest a gene or variant for the OncoKB™ team to annotate?

You may email us with your suggestion at [e-mail] . Alternatively, if you are using cBioPortal and would like to leave comments or suggestions on an existing variant, you may leave us feedback by hovering over the OncoKB icon for a given mutation in the mutations tab and by clicking the “Feedback” button on the lower right-hand corner of the gene card.

The OncoKB™ Levels of Evidence were updated in December 2019. What changes were made and why?

The OncoKB Levels of Evidence were revised and released to www.oncokb.org on December 20, 2019. The following updates were made:

1. New Level 2, defined as “Standard care biomarker recommended by the NCCN or other expert panels predictive of response to an FDA-approved drug in this indication” (formerly Level 2A).

2. Unified Level 3B, defined as “Standard care or investigational biomarker predictive of response to an FDA-approved or investigational drug in another indication” (combination of previous Levels 2B and 3B).

These changes were made for two reasons:

1. To be consistent with the Joint Consensus Recommendation by AMP, ASCO and CAP and the ESMO Scale for Clinical Actionability of molecular Targets (ESCAT).

2. To reflect the clinical data that demonstrates patients with investigational predictive biomarkers for a specific tumor type based on compelling clinical evidence (currently Level 3A) are more likely to experience clinical benefit compared to patients with predictive biomarkers that are considered standard care in a different tumor type (previously Level 2B, now combined into Level 3B).

Are the OncoKB™ Levels of Evidence aligned with ASCO/AMP/CAP Levels of Evidence?

Our updated Levels of Evidence (released on 12/20/2019) were specifically revised to align with ASCO/AMP/CAP Levels of Evidence. A comparison between the OncoKB and AMP/ASCO/CAP Levels of Evidence can be found on the Levels of Evidence page.