scholarly journals Arriving at the Right Diagnosis in an Era of Precision Medicine

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 351-357
Author(s):  
Vina Pulido ◽  
Shin Yin Lee ◽  
Naomi Yu Ko

In the era of precision medicine and targeted therapy, diagnostic inaccuracy can have tremendous ramifications. We present the case of a 61-year-old man initially diagnosed with small cell lung cancer by pathology. Prior to initiating chemotherapy, multidisciplinary discussions led to an amendment of the diagnosis to medullary thyroid cancer.

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 399-403 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva J. Gordon ◽  
David Parker ◽  
Kelly Barth ◽  
Jennifer Pena ◽  
Julia A. Elvin ◽  
...  

Mutations or other alterations in the RET gene have been implicated in a variety of malignancies – most commonly thyroid, but also chronic myelomonocytic leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, and lung, breast, pancreatic, and colon cancers. Here we present a case of a gentlemen initially diagnosed with and treated for non-small cell lung adenocarcinoma. Genomic profiling of his tumor specimen revealed a RET point mutation with a known association with medullary thyroid cancer (MTC). Further pathological and molecular diagnostic evaluation confirmed a diagnosis of MTC, leading to a change in treatment from standard chemotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer to targeted therapy against RET and potential implications regarding inherited cancer risk for his offspring. The patient experienced a clinical response to treatment and several months of improved quality of life. This case illustrates the capacity of genomic profiling to uncover molecular drivers of disease and help ensure proper diagnosis and management of cancer.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter Z. Wang ◽  
Konstantin Shilo ◽  
Joseph M. Amann ◽  
Alyssa Shulman ◽  
Mohammad Hojjat-Farsangi ◽  
...  

AbstractSmall cell lung cancer (SCLC) remains a deadly form of cancer, with a 5-year survival rate of less than 10 percent, necessitating novel therapies. Receptor tyrosine kinase-like orphan receptor 1 (ROR1) is an oncofetal protein that is emerging as a therapeutic target and is co-expressed with BCL2 in multiple tumor types due to microRNA coregulation. We hypothesize that ROR1-targeted therapy is effective in small cell lung cancer and synergizes with therapeutic BCL2 inhibition. Tissue microarrays (TMAs) and formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) SCLC patient samples were utilized to determine the prevalence of ROR1 and BCL2 expression in SCLC. Eight SCLC-derived cell lines were used to determine the antitumor activity of a small molecule ROR1 inhibitor (KAN0441571C) alone and in combination with the BCL2 inhibitor venetoclax. The Chou-Talalay method was utilized to determine synergy with the drug combination. ROR1 and BCL2 protein expression was identified in 93% (52/56) and 86% (48/56) of SCLC patient samples, respectively. Similarly, ROR1 and BCL2 were shown by qRT-PCR to have elevated expression in 79% (22/28) and 100% (28/28) of SCLC patient samples, respectively. KAN0441571C displayed efficacy in 8 SCLC cell lines, with an IC50 of 500 nM or less. Synergy as defined by a combination index of <1 via the Chou-Talalay method between KAN0441571C and venetoclax was demonstrated in 8 SCLC cell lines. We have shown that ROR1 inhibition is synergistic with BCL2 inhibition in SCLC models and shows promise as a novel therapeutic target in SCLC.


BMC Cancer ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Junjie Hu ◽  
Yan Chen ◽  
Xinsheng Zhu ◽  
Qiang Ma ◽  
Jing Zhang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Whether patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) with unexpected pleural dissemination (UPD) could get survival benefit from tumor resection remained controversial. Methods Totally, 169 patients with NSCLC with UPD were included between 2012 and 2016. Patients were divided into the tumor resection and open-close group. Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were compared with a log-rank test. The multivariable Cox analysis was applied to identify prognostic factors. Results Sixty-five patients received open-close surgery and 104 patients underwent main tumor and visible pleural nodule resection. Tumor resection significantly prolonged OS (hazard ratio [HR]: 0.408, P < 0.001), local PFS (HR: 0.283, P < 0.001), regional PFS (HR: 0.506, P = 0.005), and distant metastasis (HR: 0.595, P = 0.032). Multivariable Cox analysis confirmed that surgical method was an independent prognostic factor for OS, local PFS and regional PFS, except distant metastasis. Subgroup analyses indicated that tumor resection could not improve OS in the patients who received targeted therapy (HR: 0.649, P = 0.382), however, tumor resection was beneficial for the patients who received adjuvant chemotherapy alone (HR: 0.322, P < 0.001). In the tumor resection group, lobectomy (HR: 0.960, P = 0.917) and systematic lymphadenectomy (HR: 1.512, P = 0.259) did not show survival benefit for OS. Conclusions Main tumor and visible pleural nodule resection could improve prognosis in patients with UPD who could not receive adjuvant targeted therapy. Sublobar resection without systematic lymphadenectomy may be the optimal procedure.


2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 8528-8528
Author(s):  
Yufei Liu ◽  
Zhe Zhang ◽  
Waree Rinsurongkawong ◽  
Xiuning Le ◽  
Carl Michael Gay ◽  
...  

8528 Background: The use of durvalumab after chemoradiation in locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients significantly improves overall survival. However, it is unclear whether this benefit applies to all genetic subtypes of lung cancer. We hypothesize that patients with driver mutation NSCLC may derive less benefit from consolidation durvalumab. Methods: Using the Genomic Marker-Guided Therapy Initiative (GEMINI) database at MD Anderson, we identified 134 patients who were treated with chemoradiation followed by durvalumab for NSCLC. We segregated patients with driver mutations to targetable (EGFR, ALK translocation, ROS1 fusion, MET exon 14 skipping, RET fusion, and/or BRAF) (N = 24) and those driven by canonical KRAS mutations (N = 26). The rest (N = 84) had none of these mutations. We gathered demographic, treatment, and outcome data and compared progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) using the Kaplan-Meier method. We used multivariate regression analysis to account for demographic and treatment variables. Results: For our cohort, median age at diagnosis was 64.8, 52% were female (n = 70), and median follow up was 1.5 years. 86% of patients have a history of smoking (n = 115). 21% had squamous cell histology (n = 28). 2 patients had stage IIA disease, 6 had stage IIB, 48 had stage IIIA, 56 had stage IIIB, 13 had stage IIIC, and 9 had stage IV. 73 patients had progression after durvalumab and 37 patients died. Patients with driver mutations had significantly worse median PFS compared to those without driver mutations (8.9 mo vs 26.6 mo; HR 2.62 p < 0.001). Patients with KRAS mutations had particularly poor PFS (Median 7.9 mo, HR 3.34, p < 0.001), while patients with targetable driver mutations trended to worse PFS (Median 14.5 mo, HR 1.96, p = 0.056). The median OS for the cohort was 4.8 yrs with no significant differences based on driver mutation status. On multivariate analysis, only driver mutation status was associated with PFS, but not OS. For patients with first progression, we found the targetable driver group to have significantly improved time to second objective progression (PFS2) compared to the KRAS (HR 0.28, p = 0.011) or non-mutated group (HR 0.38, p = 0.025). All patients in the targetable driver group received targeted therapy after first progression. Conclusions: Our results suggest that patients with driver mutations have worse PFS compared to patients without these mutations after chemoradiation. However, patients with targetable oncogene driver mutations have significantly improved prognosis after initial progression compared to the other groups, likely due to targeted therapy, suggesting that these therapies, including novel approaches towards KRAS mutants, should be further explored in this setting.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document