Dr. Kim Discusses Detecting EGFR and KRAS Mutations from Cell-Free Plasma DNA of NSCLC Patients

Edward S. Kim, MD, chairman, Solid Tumor Oncology and Investigational Therapeutics, Levine Cancer Institute, Carolinas HealthCare System, discusses the use of improved and complete enrichment co-amplification at lower denaturation temperature method for the detection of EGFR and KRAS mutations from cell-free plasma DNA of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Kim says the evolution of the treatment of lung cancer over the past decade has been targeted therapies as an alternative to cytotoxic agents. The discovery of biomarkers led to enriched populations that demonstrated higher response rates and long progression-free survival benefits.

In the BATTLE trial, which looked at biomarker-based approaches of targeted therapy for lung cancer elimination, NSCLC patients were biopsied after treatment in order to determine the best therapy. Kim says both blood and tissue were archived in order to answer further questions, Kim says.

At the 2014 ASCO Annual Meeting, research was presented that looked at cell-free plasma as a way to assess biomarkers in the blood so that an invasive test is not needed. Samples from the BATTLE trial were tested to determine if there was any concordance compared to the paraffin tissue. Kim says results showed concordance rates between 80-92% with EGFR and KRAS mutations.

The next step in lung cancer will be trying to find correlative markers that are not necessarily invasive tests so they do not have to undergo a core biopsy, Kim says.