Practical Laboratory Medicine (Aug 2020)
Molecular matching and treatment strategies for advanced stage lung cancer at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center: A three-year review of a Molecular Tumor Board
Abstract
Matching of actionable tumor mutations with targeted therapy increases response rates and prolongs survival in lung cancer patients. Drug development and trials targeting genetic alterations are expanding rapidly. We describe the role of a Molecular Tumor Board (MTB) in the design of molecularly informed treatment strategies in our lung cancer patient population.Tumor DNA was sequenced using a 50-gene targeted next-generation sequencing panel. Cases were evaluated by a multidisciplinary MTB who suggested a course of treatment based on each patient’s molecular findings.During a three-year period, 21 lung cancer patients were presented at the MTB. All patients lacked common activating EGFR mutations and ALK rearrangements. One patient had Stage IIIb disease; all others were Stage IV; 18 patients had received ≥1 prior line of therapy (range 0–5). Suggestions for treatment with a targeted therapy were made for 19/21 (90.5%) patients, and four patients (21%) underwent treatment with a targeted agent, two as part of a clinical trial. Identified barriers to treatment with targeted therapy included: ineligibility for clinical trials (n = 2), lack of interest in study/distance to travel (n = 2), lack of disease progression (n = 2), poor performance status (n = 5), decision to treat next with immunotherapy (n = 3), and unknown (n = 1).For the majority of lung cancer patients, the MTB provided recommendations based on tumor genetic profiles. Identified barriers to treatment suggest that presentation to the MTB at earlier stages of disease may increase the number of patients eligible for treatment with a genetically informed targeted agent.
