Educating Patients on Biomarker Testing

Benjamin Levy, MD, of Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, describes how molecular testing in non–small cell lung cancer has advanced and impacted treatment.

Lori J. Wirth, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital, comments on the role of molecular testing to guide treatment decisions in thyroid cancer and explains how personalized medicine differs from standard treatment approaches.

Drs Benjamin Levy and Lori J. Wirth describe how they currently utilize comprehensive genomic profiling to manage patients with non–small cell lung cancer or thyroid cancer.

Recommendations for selecting appropriate patients for comprehensive genomic profiling and navigating through the testing process.

Drs Benjamin Levy and Lori J. Wirth comment on the current role of liquid biopsies in lung and thyroid cancer.

Common questions asked by patients with lung or thyroid cancer who have been referred for biomarker testing and advice for setting expectations from test results.

Andrea Ferris, of the LUNGevity Foundation, explains why shared decision-making is important when recommending molecular testing to patients with lung or thyroid cancer and highlights resources provided through her organization that support patients and health care professionals.

Lori J. Wirth, MD, describes what information she looks for from results of molecular testing that help inform treatment for her patients with thyroid cancer.

Benjamin Levy, MD, briefly describes the difference between driver mutations and immunotherapy biomarkers in non–small cell lung cancer and explains how decisions for immunotherapy or targeted therapy are made based on results of molecular assays.

Drs Benjamin Levy and Lori J Wirth describe the differences between germline and somatic mutations, explain how these are detected and used to guide treatment for lung and thyroid cancer, and comment on counseling patients about concerns of hereditary findings.

The rationale for testing 2 patients with cancer, Deborah and George, with molecular testing prior to managing their cases with novel therapy.

Deborah Kimmel describes the symptoms that led to a diagnosis of advanced non–small cell lung cancer and explains her journey to connecting with Dr Benjamin Levy and undergoing molecular testing.

George Labonte explains what it was like receiving a diagnosis of medullary thyroid cancer and describes his experience being recommended for biomarker testing and concerns surrounding testing for germline mutations.

Cancer patients, Deborah and George, reflect on their emotions while waiting to receive back results from biomarker testing and explain what it was like processing the information delivered by their test results as presented by their oncologists.

Resources available to support patients and community oncologists who are interested in learning more and gaining access to comprehensive biomarker testing.

Current barriers that impact patient access to comprehensive biomarker testing in the community and efforts underway to help advocate for increased accessibility to molecular assays moving forward.

The pros and cons of conducting pathology assessments for comprehensive biomarker tests in central laboratories versus local laboratories.

Online resources available to patients with lung or thyroid cancer who are considering participation in a clinical trial after undergoing comprehensive genomic profiling.