LC Testing Archives

Testing is an ever-present part of the journey for lung cancer, helping identify stage, treatment options, progress, and potential recurrence. Testing can also introduce a whole new vocabulary into your life. Don’t let jargon overwhelm you or undermine your grasp of test options and results.

We can help you evolve into an informed lung cancer advocate who understands results and how to use testing as a conduit to the most personalized care.

More resources for Lung Cancer Testing from Patient Empowerment Network.

Tumor Genetics vs. Family Genetics in Lung Cancer: What Is the Difference

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Tumor Genetics vs. Family Genetics in Lung Cancer: What is the Difference? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

What do lung cancer patients need to know about genetic testing? Dr. Lecia Sequist explains the two types of genetic testing and how the test results are used to create optimal treatment plans for personalized care.

Dr. Sequist is program director of Cancer Early Detection & Diagnostics at Massachusetts General Hospital and also The Landry Family Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

[ACT]IVATION TIP:

“…if you’ve been diagnosed with cancer, you should talk to your doctor about whether you should get genetic testing, either of your cancer cells or of your familial genetic background. And sometimes the answer will be yes to both those. But know that there are two different types of genetic testing.”

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 What Patients Are Candidates for Immunotherapy in Lung Cancer Care

What Patients Are Candidates for Immunotherapy in Lung Cancer Care? 

 What Are the Noted Disparities in Lung Cancer Screening and Access

What Are the Noted Disparities in Lung Cancer Screening and Access?

Transcript:

Lisa Hatfield:

Dr. Sequist, can you please explain what genetic testing is for cancer patients?

Dr. Lecia Sequist:

Yeah. This can be a really complicated area, so I’m so glad you asked me this question. I think genetic testing basically is looking at the genes. So inside each cell in our body, there are…there’s DNA, which is the genes, and the DNA is kind of like an instruction manual for your cells, and like any instruction manual it has different pages, it has different chapters and individual words. And when they’re doing genetic testing, they’re looking to see if any of those chapters or pages or words have a typo or maybe were deleted, sometimes a whole page or a whole chapter is deleted, or sometimes a chapter is picked out of where it’s supposed to go and shoved in another part of the book. And looking for these different kinds of mistakes or edits in the genes is what genetic testing does. But we can do genetic testing on different parts. When you’re talking about a patient who has cancer, there’s basically two different areas that can be tested genetically. One is the patient’s healthy body, the genes they were born with, that they inherited from their parents, that they’ve had their whole life or they could pass on to their children if they have children. And so that type of genetics is called the germline genetics, but it basically is the type of genes you can get from your parents or pass on to your children.

If you have been diagnosed with cancer, there’s a separate set of DNA, set of genetic testing, which is done on the cancer cells. And a lot of times those genes have not been with you your whole life, they just came up at the time that the first cancer cell appeared in your body. And they may be different than the germline genes you inherited from your parents. And so depends on the type of cancer that you have, there are some types of cancer where it is very common to look at the germline cancer gene…sorry, the germline genes to see if you have a predisposition for cancer. This is done a lot of times in breast and ovarian cancer and sometimes with colon cancer, where we know there are genes that can run in families that can predispose people to getting cancer. And the reason that’s done, if you’re diagnosed with cancer and they wanna check your familial genes, it’s because they wanna know if other people in your family might be at risk for the same type of cancer. Does this have implications for how your sister should be treated medically or your child?

Separately for lung cancer, for example, which I treat, we’re usually doing genetic testing on the cancer, and we’re looking at what’s making that cancer cell tick. Are there treatments, are there different drugs or therapies that we can give that will kill the cancer based on the genes that are in the cancer? And so that tumor cancer genetic testing is often called genotyping or it’s testing the somatic, which just means the cancer cells, the somatic genetic testing. But it’s complicated, and I think people, rightfully so, get confused about all these different types of genetic testing. I guess my activation tip for this question would be, if you’ve been diagnosed with cancer, you should talk to your doctor about whether you should get genetic testing, either of your cancer cells or of your familial genetic background. And sometimes the answer will be yes to both those. But know that there are two different types of genetic testing. 

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Confusion to Clarity: Expert Explains the Importance of NSCLC Mutations

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Confusion to Clarity: Expert Explains the Importance of NSCLC Mutations from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

What are some key lung cancer concepts that patients can learn about? Dr. Lecia Sequist explains lung cancer versus metastatic lung cancer and additional terms that can be helpful for patients to educate themselves about for empowered care.

Dr. Sequist is program director of Cancer Early Detection & Diagnostics at Massachusetts General Hospital and also The Landry Family Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

[ACT]IVATION TIP:

“…you’re not alone. The terms are confusing. A lot of people get lost in the terminology, the medical terminology. Don’t be afraid to ask questions or go to a website that is recommended, that’s been vetted by doctors to really have good quality information to help you understand what these terms mean.”

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 What Steps Can BIPOC Lung Cancer Patients Take to Guard Against Care Disparities

What Steps Can BIPOC Lung Cancer Patients Take to Guard Against Care Disparities

Transcript:

Lisa Hatfield: 

Dr. Sequist, we know that cancer isn’t just one disease. There are different types of cancer and even within one type of cancer, there are many different mutations that can occur within those cancer cells. Can you speak to some of those mutations with non-small cell lung cancer?

Dr. Lecia Sequist: 

Yeah. Cancer is really complicated, and it gets confusing, for both doctors and patients. We usually call a cancer by the organ that it started in.  So if the cancer starts in the lung, it’s usually called lung cancer. And it gets confusing because if the cancer spreads to another part of the body, it’s still considered lung cancer. So if someone started with a cancer in their lung, but it’s spread to their bones, the doctors would usually call it metastatic lung cancer that went to the bones as opposed to, I think a lot of people think of that as, now I have bone cancer. And so it can be very confusing. In addition to the broad type of cancer, like lung cancer, there are subtypes and then there are genetic subtypes. So there’s a lot of terms that get thrown out. And sometimes learning that you have cancer and learning about it, it’s almost like learning a foreign language. There’s so many terms that you have to first learn what the terms mean.

So I think my activation tip for this question would be, you’re not alone. The terms are confusing. A lot of people get lost in the terminology, the medical terminology. Don’t be afraid to ask questions or go to a website that is recommended, that’s been vetted by doctors to really have good quality information to help you understand what these terms mean. There’s also a lot of misinformation on the websites, that’s why you have to go to a site that maybe your doctor or your patient network recommends to make sure you’re getting accurate information. But the terms can be confusing. But it’s important to understand what you’ve been diagnosed with, so you can understand what your options are. 

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Advances in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Testing

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Advances in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Testing from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

Lung cancer expert Dr. Grace Dy discusses the latest research in lung cancer testing, including liquid biopsies and minimal residual disease (MRD).

Dr. Grace Dy is Chief of Thoracic Oncology and Professor of Oncology in the Department of Medicine at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York. Learn more about Dr. Grace Dy.

See More From INSIST! Lung Cancer

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An Expert Explains Predictive Biomarker Testing for Lung Cancer

An Expert Explains Predictive Biomarker Testing for Lung Cancer

 The Role of Antibody Drug Conjugates in Lung Cancer Care

The Role of Antibody Drug Conjugates in Lung Cancer Care

 What Biomarkers Affect Lung Cancer Care and Treatment

What Biomarkers Affect Lung Cancer Care and Treatment?

Transcript:

Katherine Banwell:

As we know, researchers are still discovering new markers. Could you tell us about the latest news and research in biomarker testing for non-small cell lung cancer? 

Dr. Grace Dy:

Oh, there is a lot going on. You know, sky’s the limit. But just an example: we have liquid biopsies that are in clinical use right now, typically in the stage IV setting.  

But beyond that, we’re also having what we call minimal residual disease testing in what we call adjuvant situations. For example, patients who had surgery, there’s a big proportion of patients who still relapse.  

So, finding out – and our scans are imperfect. They will not be able to detect micro metastatic clones or even a small cluster.  

If you have a million cancer cells clustered somewhere, it will not show on the scan. 

Katherine Banwell:

Each and every one of them. 

Dr. Grace Dy:

Right. So, is there a better way? And so, that’s the question: can we detect it in the blood? So, these are assays that are being developed. Looking at different angles, not necessarily mutations, but maybe what we call epigenetic, meaning changes on top of the DNA that makes the DNA molecule be different in terms of whether some areas of the gene will be expressed or not. 

And so, looking at these patterns because they’re different in cancers versus non-cancers. So, whether you can see it in the blood. So, it’s a ripe area.  

There’s a lot of – so, there’s some overlap with early cancer detection and MRD, or minimal residual disease testing. 

So, I think there’s an intense interest in developing these. But none are fully validated yet. There are trials that are going on, the studies that are ongoing to prove the utility and validity of these tests. So, we’re very excited. And obviously, AI everywhere. You have ChatGPT, right? So, you have AI being incorporated in diagnostics as well, in radiology, in pathology, to see: hey, maybe can we use AI technology to even maybe one day give us a mutation profile, right?   

Katherine Banwell:

Yeah. 

Dr. Grace Dy:

And that would be huge, right? But we’re not there yet. 

What Biomarkers Affect Lung Cancer Care and Treatment?

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What Biomarkers Affect Lung Cancer Care and Treatment? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

Lung cancer driver mutations can have an impact on therapy choices for patients. Dr. Grace Dy discusses the various lung cancer driver mutations and how treatment options may target specific markers.

Dr. Grace Dy is Chief of Thoracic Oncology and Professor of Oncology in the Department of Medicine at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York. Learn more about Dr. Grace Dy.

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An Expert Explains Predictive Biomarker Testing for Lung Cancer

An Expert Explains Predictive Biomarker Testing for Lung Cancer

 How Does Biomarker Testing Impact Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Care?

How Does Biomarker Testing Impact Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Care?

 Why Do Lung Cancer Patients Need Molecular Testing Before Choosing Treatment?

Why Do Lung Cancer Patients Need Molecular Testing Before Choosing Treatment?

Transcript:

Katherine Banwell:

How does testing impact treatment and care? 

Dr. Grace Dy:

So, back in like maybe more than two decades ago, I was still in school. The treatment paradigm is sort of like a one size fits all. You come in with a lung cancer diagnosis. Everybody gets treated the same.  

But with advancements in technology and understanding of actually what we call lung cancer is really genetically very different from one patient to another. We are actually not even still able to tease out all the particular details, but there are some improvements that have been made along the way. And so, defining, for example, mutations in cancers, there are what we call driver mutations that have a matched targeted therapy.  

In certain patients, actually the target therapy works so much better than chemotherapy, for example. And that’s why we have it in guidelines based on the results of clinical trials showing that in the appropriate setting, if you have a mutation that we discovered through molecular testing, and then you use the matched target therapy, survival is so much better compared to, for example, chemotherapy.  

Same with immunotherapy. If we use a biomarker to test out which patients may actually respond well to immunotherapy alone – so, that’s a major treatment paradigm change within the less than 10 years wherein we define there’s a group of patients where that’s all they need. Non-chemo, just immunotherapy, and they will do well. 

Katherine Banwell:

What are some of the mutations that are being targeted? 

Dr. Grace Dy:

Right. So, it seems like every year, it’s growing. So, it started off with the poster child in lung cancer story of EGFR. So, we have EGFR mutations. Even EGFR mutations, they’re a subtype of mutations for – there are certain drugs that work better for certain mutations.  

So, we have the classical EGFR mutations, the atypical EGFR mutations. But EGFR mutations as a group are probably the most characterized given the longevity of the research that has been done. But there’s a lot more. 

So, for example, ALK, KRAS, BRAF, HER2, NTFK, NRG, RET, MET. Even those mutations, they’re all these new ones. It’s between the subtype of mutations. For example, we talked about EGFR. Same thing with MET. You have MET exon 14 skip mutations. But in the absence of MET skip mutations, there are also what we call MET gene amplification, MET protein over-expression that have matching therapies that may actually work better. 

But we’re still kind of scratching the surface. There’s a whole lot more being characterized and developed. Case in point, just a little over a year ago, there’s an LTK Fusion that was described. Very rare. But there’s a target therapy for it. So, unless you test it, you won’t find a matching targeted therapy. 

An Expert Explains Predictive Biomarker Testing for Lung Cancer

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An Expert Explains Predictive Biomarker Testing for Lung Cancer from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

What is lung cancer biomarker testing? Dr. Grace Dy defines both biomarker and molecular testing and explains how these test results are used in lung cancer patient care.

Dr. Grace Dy is Chief of Thoracic Oncology and Professor of Oncology in the Department of Medicine at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, New York. Learn more about Dr. Grace Dy.

See More From INSIST! Lung Cancer

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 The Role of Antibody Drug Conjugates in Lung Cancer Care

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 Advances in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Testing

Advances in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Testing

Transcript:

Dr. Grace Dy:

My name is Grace Dy. I’m a thoracic medical oncologist at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center here in Buffalo, New York. 

Katherine Banwell:

Thank you for being with us today.  

Dr. Grace Dy:

Thank you for having me. 

Katherine Banwell:

What is biomarker testing, and is this the same as molecular testing for non-small cell lung cancer? 

Dr. Grace Dy:

That’s a very good question. So, let’s first maybe define what biomarker means. So, biomarker is an all-encompassing term relating to a measurement of a biological parameter. That’s what it means.  

So, you can actually have biomarker related to imaging. So, it’s not specific to a particular test. But what it’s trying to do is to guide doctors in making decisions. So, you can have, for example, a PET scan as a biomarker to indicate the effectiveness of therapy. 

So, it’s not specific to a test. So, it’s a broader scope. But in cancer, generally, it’s used interchangeably with molecular testing. And molecular testing is a more focused test on the genetics of the cancer.  

In some aspects, sometimes it also refers to testing for proteins, characteristics of different proteins in the cancer. Again, to help doctors generally define what might be a better treatment option that is personalized to the patient’s cancer. 

In some instances, the biomarker can also be what we call prognostic, meaning independent of what we do with the treatment, it may define to us how well a patient will survive or have their outcomes, whether they have treatment or not. 

So, those are maybe the nuances between a predictive versus a prognostic biomarker. But for all intents and purposes, the most common test that we use for lung cancer patients are what we call predictive biomarker testing. Molecular testing is one of the ones that we often commonly request to help us define treatment modalities, especially in non-small cell lung cancer. 

EPEP Biomarker Resource Guide

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Three Promising Areas of Lung Cancer Research

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What are three promising areas of lung cancer research? In the “Emerging Therapies| Hope for the Future of Lung Cancer Care” program, expert Dr. Jyoti Patel from Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University shares updates about emerging research and insights about the future of lung cancer care. 

1. Identification of Oncogenes

Identification of oncogenes is an active area of lung cancer research efforts. HER2 mutations and EGFR Exon 20 mutations are a couple examples of oncogenes that are targeted in research to develop more effective treatments against them. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene mutation that adds the exon 20 mutation is rare, but when the mutation occurs it’s more likely to occur in those with a non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) type of adenocarcinoma, in women, in those of Asian descent, and young adults with NSCLC.

 2. Mitigate Resistance in Targeted Therapies

Drug resistance is also under study to mitigate issues for those who receive targeted therapies. Unfortunately, those who are treated with targeted therapies eventually develop resistance, so this is why this is another focus of current research efforts. There are three generations of EGFR treatments, and now fourth-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor treatments are being researched to provide an additional line of treatments.

3. Understanding Tumor Microenvironment

The tumor microenvironment is under study to understand more about the different types of responses to immunotherapies. Though some patients have positive and vigorous responses to immunotherapies, other patients exhibit immunity to the impact of immunotherapies. Researchers are looking at the tumor microenvironment for potential ways to co-stimulate vigorous and durable immunotherapy responses for improved lung cancer care.

Lung cancer research is currently investigating many areas of research, and recent lung cancer treatment advances have increased patient survival rates and quality of life. Researchers are also investigating many areas for further screening and treatment advances, including potential blood tests for early detection. If you want to learn more about lung cancer care and treatments, check out our lung cancer information.

How Can You Access Personalized Medicine for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer?

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How Can You Access Personalized Medicine for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

What is the right therapy for your non-small cell lung cancer? This animated video reviews treatment decision considerations, the importance of biomarker testing, and steps to engage in your non-small cell lung cancer care.

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 Why Do Lung Cancer Patients Need Molecular Testing Before Choosing Treatment?

Transcript:

No two people with lung cancer are the same, so finding the right treatment for each patient is critical.  

While receiving a non-small cell lung cancer diagnosis and choosing a therapy can be overwhelming, advancements in research are providing more options and more hope than ever. 

So, what should be considered when making a treatment decision? Physicians may consider factors such as: 

  • A patient’s age, overall health and any pre-existing conditions they have. 
  • As well as their type and stage of lung cancer. 
  • And their test results, including biomarker testing. 

Biomarker testing, also referred to as molecular testing, identifies key markers such as genes, proteins, or other molecules in a sample of tissue, blood, or other body fluid. Understanding the genetic makeup of the lung cancer helps your team better understand your disease and may influence treatment options – leading to more personalized care.  

For example, if the PD-L1 receptor is detected during biomarker testing, the patient may benefit from immunotherapy. Additionally, identification of an ALK mutation or an EGFR mutation may indicate that a patient will respond to a targeted therapy. 

So, how can you access personalized medicine? You can start by talking with your doctor about biomarker testing and ask if your cancer has been tested for all known biomarkers. Request to review the test results together and ask if there are any markers that affect your risk, prognosis, or treatment options.  

Before you choose a therapy, weigh the pros and cons of each option with your doctor. Ask about side effects and if any of your existing health conditions may impact your therapy choice. You should also discuss your treatment choices with a care partner, such as a friend or loved one – someone you trust.  

So, How Can You Take Action? 

  • Ask your doctor if you have had, or will receive, all essential testing, including biomarker testing. 
  • Seek a lung cancer specialist to guide your care. A second opinion consultation with a specialist can confirm your diagnosis and treatment approach. 
  • Partner with your doctor to determine a personalized treatment approach for YOUR lung cancer. 
  • Bring a friend or a loved one to your appointments to help you process and recall information. 
  • And finally, always speak up and ask questions. Remember, you have a voice in YOUR lung cancer care. 
  • To learn more about your non-small cell lung cancer and to access tools for self-advocacy, visit powerfulpatients.org/lungcancer.  

INSIST! on Better Lung Cancer Care Resource Guide

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The Latest Lung Cancer Research Updates From ASCO 2022

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The Latest Lung Cancer Research Updates From ASCO 2022 from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

Dr. Tejas Patil from the University of Colorado Cancer Center shares the latest news in lung cancer research and treatment from the 2022 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, including an update on immunotherapy.

Dr. Tejas Patil is an academic thoracic oncologist at the University of Colorado Cancer Center focused on targeted therapies and novel biomarkers in lung cancer. Learn more about Dr. Patil, here.

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Transcript:

Katherine:

Researchers came together earlier this summer at the annual ASCO meeting. Were there highlights from the meeting that lung cancer patients should know about? 

Dr. Patil:

Right. So, the ASCO ’22 meeting this year had some really interesting publications. So, for me, the key publications that I thought were kind of interesting from ASCO ’22, 2022, one was a publication looking at the role of immunotherapy in patients who are – have a very high PD-L1 expression, so greater than 50 percent. And there’s – 

Katherine:

Reminds us what PDL is. 

Dr. Patil:

Oh, yes, of course. So, PD-L1 is a biomarker. It’s a predictive biomarker that lets us know whether some patients will benefit from immunotherapy. It’s also prognostic because if patients have a high PD-L1 score, they tend to do better with immunotherapy than patients who have a low PD-L1 score. 

Katherine:

Okay.  

Dr. Patil:

Now the interesting data that was presented was a pooled analysis of all the immunotherapy trials to date. And there’s been this ongoing question in lung cancer as to whether patients should get chemo with immunotherapy or whether they should just get immune therapy alone.  

And this study showed that if you have a very high PD-L1 score, it is potentially possible to just use immune therapy and forgo chemotherapy. And I thought that was a very interesting analysis.  

There’s also several other papers that came out as well. Mostly there was a lot of interest in something called circulating tumor DNA. So, let me just take a step back. This is a type of molecule that can be detected in the blood that can help determine whether cancer is present in your blood or not. And there was a lot of publications at ASCO looking at using a concept called minimal residual disease.  

So, when we treat patients with early-stage lung cancer, a big question is how do we know they’re cured or not cured? And a lot of abstracts and publications this ASCO were looking at this concept of minimal residual disease. So, if I can detect some cancer in your blood after you’ve had cured curative therapies, we’re – we have a problem because there’s still cancer around and we’re detecting it in the blood.  

And I think this type of approach is going to really inform how we think about early-stage lung cancer management in the future. 

What Testing Should Take Place After Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Treatment?

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What Testing Should Take Place After Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Treatment? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

It’s well-known that patients should undergo testing before choosing lung cancer therapy, but what testing should take place following treatment? Lung cancer specialist Dr. Tejas Patil, from the University of Colorado Cancer Center, discusses the role of testing after treatment.

Dr. Tejas Patil is an academic thoracic oncologist at the University of Colorado Cancer Center focused on targeted therapies and novel biomarkers in lung cancer. Learn more about Dr. Patil, here.

See More From INSIST! Lung Cancer

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 Lung Cancer Targeted Therapy: What Is It and Who Is It Right For?

 Why Do Lung Cancer Patients Need Molecular Testing Before Choosing Treatment?

Transcript:

Katherine:

We know that patients should undergo testing before choosing therapy, but what testing should take place following treatment? 

Dr. Patil:

That’s a really good question. And it’s a complex question depending on the type of treatment that the patient is receiving. So, broadly speaking in lung cancer, we’ve separated the field into two types of treatments.  

Patients with lung cancers will get molecular testing at the onset, right? When they’re diagnosed to look for what’s called a driver oncogene. So, these are mutations that can be targeted with pill-based treatments. And if patients have these mutations, there’s about 10 of these right now and several in development, then the patients can receive a targeted therapy.

However, if they don’t have these mutations, then the standard of care right now is some kind of chemotherapy with immunotherapy. Now, the question asked was what kind of testing do you do after diagnosis? And that really depends on which camp you’re in. So, if you’re in the targeted therapy camp, my general practice has been to repeat molecular testing upon progression. The reason is that patients who are receiving targeted therapies typically evolved some kind of resistance to targeted therapy.  

Broadly speaking, you can categorize these as on target or off target resistance, but the major reason for doing repeat molecular testing is to understand a mechanism of resistance and then hopefully develop a new treatment with that knowledge. Now for the camp that doesn’t receive targeted therapies, let’s say they receive chemotherapy and immunotherapy, there it gets a little bit more nuanced.  

And if there is a role for repeating a biopsy and looking for dynamic changes in the patient’s cancer, but it is not routine and should be done with consultation with a thoracic oncologist. And really the idea here is that if patients who are on chemo immunotherapy progress, any additional molecular testing should really help inform what the next line of treatment will be and sometimes that can be a clinical trial.  

How Does Biomarker Testing Impact Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Care?

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How Does Biomarker Testing Impact Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Care? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

Biomarker testing identifies certain genes, proteins, or other molecules present in a biologic sample. Dr. Tejas Patil, of University of Colorado Cancer Center, discusses how results from these tests can be used to determine a treatment approach for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Dr. Tejas Patil is an academic thoracic oncologist at the University of Colorado Cancer Center focused on targeted therapies and novel biomarkers in lung cancer. Learn more about Dr. Patil, here.

See More From INSIST! Lung Cancer

Related Resources:

Why Do Lung Cancer Patients Need Molecular Testing Before Choosing Treatment?

 Lung Cancer Targeted Therapy: What Is It and Who Is It Right For?

 What Testing Should Take Place After Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Treatment?

Transcript:

Katherine:

Biomarker testing is important prior to choosing therapy for non-small cell lung cancer. What is this test and how long does it take to get results? 

Dr. Patil:

That is a great question. So, a biomarker is a biological molecule found in blood or other body fluids or tissues that is a sign of a normal or an abnormal process.  

Or let me reframe that as it represents having some kind of medical condition or disease. Now, it’s a very broad definition. Basically, a biomarker can be used to see how well the body responds to a treatment for a disease or a condition. And when we look at it from a genetic perspective, sometimes the term that you’ll see is a molecular marker or a signature molecule.  

So, these are terms that are sort of interchangeable with biomarkers. But the role of a biomarker is to help ascertain how well the body responds to a certain medical intervention, broadly speaking. 

Katherine:

Okay. What question should a patient ask their doctor about test results? 

Dr. Patil:

So that’s a very complicated question, and I will do my best to answer it succinctly. So, my personal view is that for any test to be meaningful, it should impact medical decision-making in some very concrete way.  

Specifically, with biomarkers, the result should either be prognostic or predictive and I’ll define what those terms are. So, a predictive biomarker is one that helps determine if a certain therapy will be effective. So, I’m going to use lung cancer as an example. In EGFR mutation in non-small cell lung cancer allows a doctor to prescribe an EGFR targeted therapy called osimertinib (Tagrisso). Therefore, in this example, the EGFR mutation is predictive.  

It opens the door for this targeted option that would otherwise not have been available if the patient did not have this EGFR mutation. A prognostic marker is a little different. This is the type of marker that helps categorize risk. So, in the same example I used earlier, that patient may have an EGFR mutation.  

They can also have a different mutation called TP53. Now this TP53 mutation doesn’t influence therapy. It’s not targetable, but it does influence risk.  

And so, there’s been a lot of emerging data to show that patients with TP53 mutations have worse outcomes on targeted therapies than patients without TP53. And in that case, that mutation is what we call a prognostic biomarker. 

How Does Immunotherapy Treat Lung Cancer?

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How Does Immunotherapy Treat Lung Cancer? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

How does immunotherapy work? Dr. Estelamari Rodriguez, a lung cancer specialist, explains how immunotherapy harnesses the immune system to kill cancer cells and how this treatment approach is transforming lung cancer care.

Dr. Estelamari Rodriguez is Associate Director of Community Outreach – Thoracic Oncology at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami Health System. Learn more about Dr. Rodriguez, here.

See More From INSIST! Lung Cancer

Related Resources:

 
What Treatments Are Available for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer?

 Immunotherapy for Lung Cancer Treatment: What to Expect

 Understanding Biomarker Testing for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Treatment

Understanding Biomarker Testing for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Treatment

Transcript:

Katherine Banwell:

What is immunotherapy, and how does it work to treat lung cancer?  

Dr. Estelamari Rodriguez:

So, immunotherapy technically can be used to treat almost every cancer. So, it’s this concept that over time the cancer cells learn to bypass the immune surveillance, which is the way that your body identifies cells that are abnormal and gets rid of them.  

Your immune system can do that. And over time cancer grows and grows faster because your immune cells don’t even recognize that the cancer cells are there. So, immune therapy, specifically the checkpoint inhibitors, they target a receptor that is overexpressed in cancer cells, that make cancer cells invisible to the immune system. So, when you use, for example, some of these antibodies that bind the PD-L1, the programmed death ligand-1 receptor, that in itself gets rid of that veil that is covering the tumor cells. And now, your immune system can recognize the cancer. 

And that is one way of activating the immune system against the cancer, checkpoint inhibitors. There are newer drugs that are coming in the market, newer kind of engineered immune cells that will, in the future, be able to be developed for that specific cell. And in a way, immune therapy is more natural because you’re not getting a chemotherapy is that causes nausea or hair loss.  

You’re getting your immune system kind of ramped up, activated, against your cancer cells. It can have side effects of when you activate all these immune cells, you can cause inflammation in the body that has to be monitored, and some patients can be serious. And also, people have developed autoimmune kind of antibody reactions. So, there is a lot of monitoring that needs to be done. It’s given intravenously. We have doses now that last up to six weeks in some of the major immunotherapies that we use, like pembrolizumab, so you don’t have to come all the time. 

And I think the one thing that I’ve seen that is very promising about immunotherapy is that if you activate your immune system, almost like when you were young you got a vaccine, and you don’t have to get it every year, you have a memory response against that virus. Immunotherapy can achieve that for about 20 to 30 percent of patients today, where they get this memory against the cancer cells, and they could potentially come off treatment. 

Lung Cancer Targeted Therapy: What Is It and Who Is It Right For?

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Lung Cancer Targeted Therapy: What Is It and Who Is It Right For? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

How does targeted therapy work? Dr. Estelamari Rodriguez defines targeted therapy and shares how this personalized treatment approach attacks lung cancer cells.

Dr. Estelamari Rodriguez is Associate Director of Community Outreach – Thoracic Oncology at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami Health System. Learn more about Dr. Rodriguez, here.

See More From INSIST! Lung Cancer

Related Resources:

Why Do Lung Cancer Patients Need Molecular Testing Before Choosing Treatment?

 How Does Immunotherapy Treat Lung Cancer?

 Understanding Biomarker Testing for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Treatment

Understanding Biomarker Testing for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Treatment

Transcript:

Katherine Banwell:

What is targeted therapy and who might it be right for? 

Dr. Estelamari Rodriguez:

So, targeted therapy kind of falls under the umbrella of precision medicine, where if you find a genetic driver, a mutation that is making that cancer grow. And out there we have drugs, we already have nine that are targeting specific genetic changes.  

The targeted therapy is really that treatment, either a pill, or an injection that goes after the genetic driver. And that, in a way, I describe to patients like you have a switch that went on and caused the cancer growth, and now with the targeted therapy we can put that switch off. And those treatments are very important because as they have evolved, they have kind of fill the gaps that chemotherapy had for patients. So, the one thing about targeted therapy is that because you’re going after one specific change, many times they’re less toxic. 

So, cytotoxic chemotherapy to kill lung cancer cells has to unfortunately kill a lot of good cancer cells in your body, specifically red cells, white cells, and platelets. So, that your body has to recover from all this normal tissue that dies, the normal cells that get impacted by the cytotoxic chemotherapy. In targeted therapy there is side effects, but a lot of them are decreased compared to chemo. 

And they’re really going after cells that have this mutation. So, preferentially you’re attacking the cancer and not the whole body. So, that’s an extra advantage for patients. And as we have patients live longer on these treatments, toxicity, and cause, all these things are really critical so that we develop better drugs that are even more specific targeting only what needs to be targeted and cause less side effects. 

Why Do Lung Cancer Patients Need Molecular Testing Before Choosing Treatment?

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Why Do Lung Cancer Patients Need Molecular Testing Before Choosing Treatment? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

How do a patient’s genetic mutations impact lung cancer treatment? Lung cancer specialist Dr. Estelamari Rodriguez emphasizes the importance of undergoing biomarker testing, also referred to as molecular testing, to identify genetic mutations, which may lead to a more personalized lung cancer therapy.

Dr. Estelamari Rodriguez is Associate Director of Community Outreach – Thoracic Oncology at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of Miami Health System. Learn more about Dr. Rodriguez, here.

See More From INSIST! Lung Cancer

Related Resources:

Which Tests Do You Need Before Choosing a Lung Cancer Treatment?

 What Are the Goals of Lung Cancer Treatment?

 Lung Cancer Targeted Therapy: What Is It and Who Is It Right For?

Transcript:

Katherine Banwell:

What is molecular testing? 

Dr. Estelamari Rodriguez:

So, that is very critical for lung cancer patients today. So, molecular testing is when we get tumor cells, and we analyze the genetic changes that lead to that tumor growth. And that can be done today in different ways. The usual goal standard have been to do a biopsy of the tumor, and then do next generation sequencing when we analyze many, many genes that can impact cancer growth, and then we get a signature what drives that cancer. And in doing that, we discovered that some patients, for example, regardless of who they are, women or men, smokes or non-smokers, they may have a genetic driver that we have a treatment for, that does better than chemotherapy. 

So, that is important that you identify that as early as possible.  

Katherine Banwell:

Why is it necessary for patients to undergo molecular testing prior to a lung cancer treatment plan? 

Dr. Estelamari Rodriguez:

So, it is extremely critical because we have data today that several of these targeted treatments, the improvement of survival is not in the span of months, it’s in the span of years. 

People will do years better if they started with the treatment for their specific cancer driver mutation than if they received chemotherapy.  

We also saw that when immunotherapy came in the market a lot of patients, rightly so, doctors thought, “This is the best new thing, let’s put this patient on immunotherapy” and they were not testing patients for mutations before they started. And we found out two things, one is that there is toxicity if you give immunotherapy followed by some of the targeted therapies, specifically one called osimertinib (Tagrisso), so that you could cause harm.  

And then, number two, that immunotherapy doesn’t work in every case. A lot of patients with targeted driver mutations, they do better with a targeted treatment than they will do with chemotherapy and immunotherapy. So, I think it is important to define that early. We also now have approval for at least one targeted therapy after surgery. 

So, even patients that are early stage, which is not the majority of patients, but those patients also will get an improvement if they have an EGFR mutation specifically if they receive that targeted pill treatment after surgery. So, understanding the tumor is important so you can select the right treatment for the patient.  

Now, this is a dynamic thing, so tumors can evolve over time. So, there are many times that patients come to us for second opinions, and we actually recommend a repeat biopsy to understand the new genetic signature of that tumor because we may find a new option that was not there at the beginning.