A study recently published in the Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics, and the Journal of Thoracic Oncology laid down new guidelines for oncologists treating lung cancer, which can extend survivability and improve quality of life for patients.
The new guidelines advise molecular tumor testing for all advanced stage lung cancer patients. Molecular tumor testing, or bio-marker testing, involves analyzing a tumor’s DNA to identify mutations that match up with targeted drug therapies, which can be vastly more beneficial than standard chemotherapy.
“You can have somebody who, if they got standard therapy might have lived about three months, but if they get a targeted therapy directed toward their tumor, they may have three, four, five years,” said Dr. Regina Vidaver, Executive Director of the National Lung Cancer Partnership. “Some of them are living for decades and it’s wonderful. So we have a tremendous opportunity here right now with the tools we have today, if they’re properly used on the patients we have today to really effect that survival rate.”
Cape Coral resident Lindsay Range-Gomes is a testament to the impact of targeted drug therapies. In 2008, at the age of 27, Gomes received a diagnosis of Stage Four Non-Small Cell Adenocarcinoma Lung Cancer.
Gomes underwent chemotherapy for less than a year, until early 2009 when researchers identified a key mutation in her tumor that made her eligible for a clinical trial with targeted drug therapies.
“After three months of being on the medication and on the clinical trial, I had no sign of cancer at all,” Gomes said. “So, going from stage four to no sign of it in my lungs or anywhere, it’s given me my life back. I can exercise, I can do normal things that a 32 year old can do.”
Gomes said she continues to do well on drug therapies that target her tumor’s specific mutation. Molecular tumor testing has been common practice for patients with many other forms of cancer for many years, but Dr. Vidaver said now that same practice needs to become the standard of care for oncologists treating lung cancer.
“Now that we understand more about who can have these mutations in their tumors, it’s clear we cannot use those clinical characteristics, those things we can just see in the person,” said Dr. Vidaver. “Whether they’re male or female, young or old, having a smoking history, don’t have a smoking history; we cannot use those as our judge. The truth is we don’t known just by looking at someone how likely it is for their tumors to have these particular molecular changes so we need to do the testing to make sure they have the best treatment option.”
The National Lung Cancer Partnership aims to double the number of lung cancer patients who survive beyond the five year benchmark by 2022.
Dr. Vidaver says molecular tumor testing will help them not only reach that goal, but identify and recruit candidates for future clinical trials.
