Dr. Boyle on the Role of Concurrent Molecular Testing in Lung Cancer

Theresa Boyle, MD, PhD, molecular pathologist and assistant professor at Moffitt Cancer Center, discusses the role of concurrent molecular testing in lung cancer.

The role of liquid biopsy has grown significantly in lung cancer and is often utilized before tissue-based testing, says Boyle. The results of plasma-based testing can be obtained quickly and inform targeted therapy options for patients, Boyle explains. Although similar molecular markers can be identified with liquid and tissue biopsies, tissue-based testing is often reserved for confirmation or to ensure a mutation was not missed with the liquid biopsy, Boyle says.

For example, if a liquid biopsy does not reveal a driver mutation in a patient with lung adenocarcinoma who has never smoked, tissue testing is indicated to ensure nothing was missed, Boyle says. In some cases, patients may not have enough circulating tumor DNA for the liquid biopsy to identify an aberration, so tissue-based testing is often needed, concludes Boyle.