The emergence of molecular diagnostic testing in lung cancer offers new hope for patients battling the number one cancer killer. Now, after a decade of biomarker testing in lung cancer, a uniform approach for testing for the EGFR mutation and ALK rearrangement along with the availability of targeted therapies offer lung cancer patients the chance for improved quality of life and more time with their loved ones.
The College of American Pathologists (CAP), the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC), and the Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) have developed an evidence-based guideline, “Molecular Testing Guideline for the Selection of Lung Cancer Patients for EGFR and ALK Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors,” which establishes recommendations for EGFR and ALK testing, helping to guide targeted therapies.
“The key recommendation of the guideline, and perhaps most important to lung cancer patients, is that all patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma should be tested for EGFR and ALK abnormalities that would qualify them for tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy, regardless of their clinical variables, such as smoking history, gender, or ethnicity,” says Marc Ladanyi, MD, attending pathologist in the Molecular Diagnostics Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, and IASLC member.
Matching a cancer patient’s molecular profile with the appropriate targeted therapy provides individualized treatment options. The guideline answers important clinical questions, including: When should testing be performed? How should testing be performed? Should other genes be routinely tested in lung cancer? How should molecular testing of lung cancer be implemented? Read the guideline.
