Actor portrayal.
Biomarkers can be important
IN DETERMINING MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR LATE-STAGE LUNG CANCER
Biomarkers may provide clues that guide doctors in choosing the best path forward for each patient based on their unique cancer profile.
What is a
Biomarker?
In cancer, a biomarker is a change in the cells of your body. Biomarkers are a source of information that gives your doctor a better understanding of your cancer. This information is important to researchers, too, who are helping create new medicines to fight disease.
Biomarkers fall into 3 main categories:
Diagnostic
These are biological signals that can indicate the presence of cancer and identify which type it is.
Prognostic
These biomarkers can help determine how aggressive a cancer may be and its potential to spread.
Predictive
These biomarkers can help identify which treatments may be effective against a specific cancer.
Non-small cell
lung cancer (NSCLC) biomarkers
NSCLC biomarkers can be found in or on cancer cells. There are several key changes doctors look for to identify them, such as:
Genetic Changes
These are changes that happen inside a cell’s nucleus, within the DNA.
KRAS mutations
EGFR mutations
BRAF mutations
ALK rearrangements
METex14 skipping mutations
Emerging biomarker
- MET gene amplification
Protein Expression Changes
These changes are usually found on the cell’s surface or inside the cell’s main body, but not in its core (the nucleus).
PD-L1 protein overexpression
Emerging biomarkers
- c-Met protein overexpression
- Trophoblast cell surface
antigen 2 (Trop-2)
The biomarkers listed are not exhaustive, since more are being discovered through research.
Currently, there are no Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved treatments specifically targeting the emerging biomarkers listed above.
Know Your
Biomarker Status
Because cancer can mutate, new biomarkers can develop over time. Talk to your doctor about getting tested for biomarkers throughout your cancer experience.
Ask your doctor to continue to look at your biomarkers. Here are some questions to get the conversation started:
Is now a good time to recheck my biomarkers?
Do I have an archived tissue sample available for testing?
If I have an emerging biomarker, are there clinical trials testing potential new treatments?
How could my results impact decisions moving forward?
Guidelines for biomarker testing in late-stage NSCLC
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) sets the guidelines for biomarker testing in lung cancer.
The NCCN guidelines® recommend that patients with late-stage NSCLC be tested for PD-L1 overexpression and the following genomic biomarkers: EGFR, KRAS, ALK, ROS1, BRAF, NTRK 1/2/3, MET, and RET.
What should I know about MET ABERRATIONS?
MET is a gene that provides instructions for making a protein that acts like a switch in our cells. This protein helps control processes like cell growth and survival.
Cells with MET aberrations are considered “drivers,” which can contribute to the growth and spread of NSCLC and may affect how the cancer responds to certain therapies.
There are 3 identified MET aberrations:
MET amplification:
There are extra copies of the MET gene
METex14 skipping mutations:
Part of the MET gene called exon 14 is missing
c-Met protein overexpression:
There is an excess of the c-Met protein on the cell surface
MET amplification and c-Met protein overexpression are emerging biomarkers, with no FDA-approved treatments at this time.