Oncologist Mark Socinski on VeriStrat Testing for Patients With Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Mark Socinski, co-leader of the lung cancer program at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, discusses VeriStrat testing and how it may be useful in the diagnosis of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

VeriStrat is a blood test that examines protein patterns and distinguishes which patients with NSCLC would see minimal benefit from EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors, such as Tarceva (erlotinib) and Iressa (gefitinib). Socinski uses results from a VeriStrat test to exclude these choices from a patient’s treatment plan.

The test also includes a prognostic factor, advising practitioners that patients who test VeriStrat “poor" are likely to have a poor prognosis, versus patients who test VeriStrat “good."

Though he does not order VeriStrat testing for all patients in the second and/or third-line setting of NSCLC, Socinski says it is a useful tool.