How Do Lung Cancer Biomarkers Help Guide Treatment?

If you’ve been diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), one of the first conversations to have with your clinician should be about testing your tumor tissue for cancer biomarkers. Biomarkers can be gene changes or high levels of proteins that are known to cause cancer. They can give your clinician important information about your cancer, including how it might respond to treatment.“According to National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines, everyone with a stage 2 or higher lung cancer should undergo molecular testing,” said David Tom Cooke, M.D., chief of general thoracic surgery at UC Davis Health. “There are FDA-approved regimens that tackle the major genetic mutations involved in lung cancer and have been shown to improve disease-free survival.”Cooke noted that not all people with lung cancer receive initial biomarker testing as soon as they’re diagnosed, despite the guidelines being clear. “Don’t be afraid to ask your doctor for testing before any treatment begins,” he said. “Just politely say, ‘I would like to have my tumor undergo biomarker testing or next-generation sequencing.’” Biomarker testing requires only small sample Lung cancer is diagnosed with a bronc...