Dr. Kerr on Misconceptions With Molecular Profiling in Lung Cancer

Keith Kerr, BSc, MB, ChB, consultant pathologist, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland, discusses common misconceptions with molecular profiling in lung cancer.

It is a common idea that molecular testing is a one-dimensional approach, focusing only on mutations. As a result, researchers have developed state-of-the-art technology for analyzing mutations at a DNA level. However, there is much more when it comes to profiling a patient, Kerr argues. Along with mutations, fusion genes have emerged as important molecular factors. Global strategies for detecting mutations are generally not sufficient enough to detect these fusions. Kerr says there is evidence for some alterations with a fusion gene present that the key biomarker is the presence or absence of the protein. Pan-genomic analyses at a DNA level are not capable of identifying this.

Kerr concludes that molecular profiling strategies should not be one dimensional; rather, it should involve multiple complimentary strategies.