How Can You Access Personalized Medicine for Gastric Cancer?

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How Can You Access Personalized Medicine for Gastric Cancer? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

What is the right therapy for your gastric cancer? This animated video reviews treatment decision considerations, how results of essential testing may impact therapy, and advice for engaging in your gastric cancer care. 

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 Should Gastric Cancer Patients Consider a Second Opinion?

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How Do Biomarker Test Results Impact a Gastric Cancer Treatment Plan?

Transcript:

Advances in gastric cancer research are leading to more targeted treatments and giving patients access to personalized care. Personalized medicine – or precision medicine – is a type of care that is based on the genetic makeup and individual characteristics of your disease.  

Biomarker testing identifies key markers such as genes, proteins, or other molecules in a sample of tissue, blood, or other bodily fluid. The test results help the healthcare team better understand your cancer and may influence treatment options – leading to more tailored options with potentially fewer side effects.  

For example, if the PD-L1 receptor is detected during biomarker testing, you may benefit from immunotherapy. The tumor’s HER-2 status or mismatch repair protein expression status may indicate that you may respond well to a targeted therapy. And, treatment targets continue to be identified as research moves forward.  

When deciding on a treatment approach, physicians may consider factors such as: 

  • Your age, overall health, and any pre-existing conditions. 
  • Your type and stage of gastric cancer. 
  • And your test results, including biomarker testing. 

So, how can you partner with your doctor to guide a personalized treatment approach for YOUR gastric cancer? 

  • First, seek a gastric cancer specialist to lead your care. A second opinion consultation with a specialist can confirm your diagnosis and treatment plan. 
  • Ask your doctor if you have had, or will receive, all essential testing, including biomarker testing, and discuss if there are any markers that impact your risk, prognosis, or treatment options.  
  • Inquire about clinical trial options suited to your specific cancer and biomarker test results. 
  • Discuss the potential side effects of each treatment option and ask if any of your existing health conditions may impact your choices. 
  • Include a care partner, such as a friend or loved one – someone you trust – in discussions, so you can feel confident in your decisions.  
  • And finally, always speak up and ask questions. Remember, you have a voice in YOUR gastric cancer care. 

To learn more about your gastric cancer and to access tools for self-advocacy, visit powerfulpatients.org/gastric.  

Should Gastric Cancer Patients Be Treated Immediately?

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Should Gastric Cancer Patients Be Treated Immediately? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

Is it critical that gastric cancer therapy begin immediately? Expert Dr. Matthew Strickland explains how timing can affect care and key factors to consider when deciding on a treatment plan.

Dr. Matthew Strickland is a medical oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital. Learn more about Dr. Strickland.

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How Is Gastric Cancer Biomarker Testing Conducted?

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 Should Gastric Cancer Patients Consider a Second Opinion?

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 How Do Biomarker Test Results Impact a Gastric Cancer Treatment Plan?

How Do Biomarker Test Results Impact a Gastric Cancer Treatment Plan?

Transcript:

Katherine Banwell:

Dr. Strickland, if I’ve been recently diagnosed, how long is it safe for me to wait before I begin treatment? 

Dr. Matthew Strickland:

I’m so glad you asked that question, because this is a question that comes up nearly 100 percent of the time when I meet a patient for the first time. Understandably once someone is diagnosed, this leads to incredible anxiety to start to do something. It’s true that over a long period of time cancer could develop the ability to spread, but what’s I’m often telling my patients is that on the order of 2, 3, or perhaps 4 weeks, that’s not enough time for cancer to spread.  

It’s much more important for us to complete a proper workup, so we know in great detail what diagnosis we’re dealing with as well as what stage we’re dealing with.  

That we can prepare the most personalized treatment plan for that patient. So, it’s very common for us to start treatment, you know, two to three weeks after that initial meeting. I want patients to really know that this is okay. Nothing is going to change compared to that original diagnosis in that short period of time.  

How Do Biomarker Test Results Impact a Gastric Cancer Treatment Plan?

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How Do Biomarker Test Results Impact a Gastric Cancer Treatment Plan? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

What impact do biomarker test results have on gastric cancer care? Expert Dr. Matthew Strickland explains how the identification of biomarkers affect treatment choices and why patients should insist on this essential testing. 

Dr. Matthew Strickland is a medical oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital. Learn more about Dr. Strickland.

See More From INSIST! Gastric Cancer

Related Programs:

How Is Gastric Cancer Biomarker Testing Conducted?

How Is Gastric Cancer Biomarker Testing Conducted?

 Should Gastric Cancer Patients Consider a Second Opinion?

Should Gastric Cancer Patients Consider a Second Opinion?

 Should Gastric Cancer Patients Be Treated Immediately?

Should Gastric Cancer Patients Be Treated Immediately?

Transcript:

Katherine Banwell:

Dr. Strickland, how do biomarker test results impact gastric cancer prognosis?  

Dr. Matthew Strickland:

So, biomarkers will directly guide our treatment decisions in how we can assemble the best treatment plan for our patient as an individual. That will have direct ramifications for how well and for how long that therapy can work for.  

So, I would say that there’s a direct correlation between the biomarker analysis to prognosis.  

Katherine Banwell:

Dr. Strickland, how do biomarker test results impact gastric cancer treatment options?  

Dr. Matthew Strickland:

So, for example, depending on the stage…if a patient has a stage IV cancer, PD-L1 expression will guide our treatment decision whether to include immunotherapy typically with a chemotherapy background or not. To say that a different way, if the expression is very low or absent, we know that patient likely will not benefit from immunotherapy and could actually be harmed, because there is some toxicity that comes with these treatments. That’s one example. But similarly for HER2+ patients, we’ll similarly assemble a treatment regimen with a targeted therapy that is included.  

That certainly guides treatment options, specifically based on a HER2-positive result or negative. The next biomarker I want everyone to know about is called PD-L1. That stands for programmed death ligand 1. This is also a protein that’s expressed on the surface of cancer cells.  

That usually leads to a better outcome than for patients that we can’t include a targeted therapy and left relying on chemotherapy only.  

Katherine Banwell:

Dr. Strickland, what questions should patients ask their healthcare team about testing and test results?  

Dr. Matthew Strickland:

Because biomarker status is so critical for treatment decisions and leading to outcomes and prognosis, I would encourage patients to ask their provider if all standard biomarkers have been obtained at the time of their diagnosis. Sometimes that answer is no, but they’re working on it. That’s okay. But I would highly encourage patients to just ensure that standard biomarkers are being tested for, that they will directly guide the treatment recommendations.  

Katherine Banwell:

Dr. Strickland, is there developing research or treatment news that gastric cancer patients should know about?  

Dr. Matthew Strickland:

I think it’s a very exciting time for the treatment of gastric cancer. Now, we still have a lot of work to do. I don’t want to minimize. This is still a tough and can be an aggressive cancer. It’s no time to let up.   

That being said, if we use immunotherapy as an example alone, there’s been a flurry of new approvals for standard of care in the last three to four years. Our understanding is only increasing of how to select the right patients that will benefit as well as how to avoid some of the toxicities. Beyond immunotherapy, there are new and emerging targets that we can design targeted therapy for.  

We don’t yet have mainstream approvals for targets like Claudin 18.2. But this is a very exciting new target that I think will lead to an approval in the short future.