Precision Medicine in Oncology®

R. Steven Paulson, MD, discusses how to adapt to the era of precision medicine, the latest with liquid biopsies, and a unique diagnostic tool with the potential to revolutionize oncology.

Sreeni Chittoor, MD, FACP, discusses the role of liquid biopsies in non–small cell lung cancer and the advantages of using this type of assay compared with tissue-based genotyping across cancer types. 

Evidence is increasing that blood-based biomarkers have predictive utility in advanced non–small cell lung cancer. Going further, blood-based next-generation sequencing appears to have clinical utility in selecting targeted treatment in this setting.

Faculty from Texas Oncology and Quest Med Fusion highlight exciting ongoing research efforts at their respective institutions.

Larotrectinib demonstrated a clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival compared with time to progression on prior treatment in patients with TRK fusion–positive cancers using a measure known as the growth modulation index.

Molecular testing has become an imperative step in the treatment decision-making process for oncologists, and new technologies and assays are emerging to further help identify tumor abnormalities and at the right time.

Co-chairs William K. Oh, MD, Adam M. Brufsky, MD, PhD, and Benjamin P. Levy, MD, preview key topics that will be covered at the 37th Annual CFS®: Innovative Cancer Therapy for Tomorrow symposium.

Frontline treatment with osimertinib improved median overall survival by 6.8 months compared with erlotinib or gefitinib for patients with metastatic, EGFR-mutant non–small cell lung cancer.

Miguel A. Villalona-Calero, MD, discusses the availability of ALK inhibitors for patients with ALK-positive non–small cell lung cancer and the importance of implementing sequencing panels to guide treatment.

The European Commission has approved larotrectinib for the treatment of certain adult and pediatric patients with solid tumors who have an NTRK gene fusion without a known acquired resistance mutation.

Alex A. Adjei, MD, PhD, a professor of oncology and pharmacology at Mayo Clinic, discussed the history of five target genes: NTRK, RET, MET, BRAF, and HER2, as well as the exciting data coming out for the lung cancer subset.

Patients with advanced non–small cell lung cancer and actionable mutations had similar progression-free survival whether treatment guidance came from tissue or circulating tumor (ct)DNA analysis using the Guardant360 assay, a matched retrospective comparison showed.

Alexander Drilon, MD, provides insight into his study on the role of larotrectinib in the treatment of patients with TRK fusions and brain metastases or those with primary CNS disease.

Carol Mangione, MD, MSPH, shares insight on the specifics of the recommendations related to BRCA-mutation testing and how the USPSTF hopes these suggestions will impact patient outcomes.

Research forms the backbone of medical knowledge, and research integrity is a crucial responsibility of any scientist.

Using up-front, broadpanel genomic tests that include hundreds of genes can save money and, in some cases, improve outcomes compared with other diagnostic approaches, especially in lung cancer but also increasingly in breast, colorectal, skin, and other cancers.