Dr. Kris on How the Institutes in His Study Worked Together

Lead author Mark G. Kris, MD, chief of the Thoracic Oncology Service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, describes the multicenter study that focused on the identification of driver mutations from tumor specimens in patients with lung adenocarcinoma. He explains that the institutes involved in the study shared information with each but did not share tissue samples.

Kris points out the trial was unique because it did not conduct exploratory research or look at prognostics, but instead focused on improving treatment through identification of mutations. The trial focused on identifying KRAS, EGFR, HER2, BRAF, PIK3CA, AKT1, MEK1, and NRAS mutations using standard multiplexed assays and FISH for EML4-ALK rearrangements and MET amplifications.