Molecular testing, which may also be called biomarker testing or tumor marker testing, is when doctors study tumor tissue taken during a biopsy to understand the specific features of a person's cancer. Molecular testing may be done in people with lung cancer to identify mutations, or changes, in the tumor’s DNA that can be targeted with treatment. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) is a type of molecular testing that can test for dozens to hundreds of biomarkers at once.

In this podcast, Ryan Gentzler, MD, leads a discussion with Xiuning Le, MD, PhD; Brendan Stiles, MD; and Vamsidhar Velcheti, MD, FACP, FCCP, on what people with lung cancer should know about molecular testing, including what it is, how it may be used to help guide treatment decisions, and the latest research about its role in treatment planning.

• What is molecular testing? [3:02]

• How is molecular testing done, and how is it used today for people with lung cancer? [4:47]

• What is the IMpower010 clinical trial for early-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and what did it learn about molecular testing in the context of that clinical trial? [7:27]

• What is the ADAURA clinical trial for early-stage NSCLC with an epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation, and what does it mean for molecular testing? [9:36]

• What is the CheckMate 816 clinical trial for early-stage NSCLC, and why is it relevant for molecular testing? [11:38]

• How can results from molecular testing help guide treatment decisions for some patients? [14:07]

Dr. Gentzler is the director of the Thoracic Oncology Clinical Research Program at the University of Virginia (UVA) and chairs the UVA Cancer Center’s Lung Cancer Translational Research Team. He is also the 2022 Cancer.Net Specialty Editor for Thymoma. Dr. Le is an assistant professor in the Department of Thoracic/Head and Neck Medical Oncology in the Division of Internal Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Stiles is chief of thoracic surgery and surgical oncology at Montefiore and Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Dr. Velcheti is the director of thoracic medical oncology at New York University Langone’s Perlmutter Cancer Center. Dr. Gentzler, Dr. Le, Dr. Stiles, and Dr. Velcheti are members of the 2022 Cancer.Net Lung Cancer Advisory Panel.

 View disclosure information for Dr. Gentzler, Dr. Le, Dr. Stiles, and Dr. Velcheti.

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