Molecular test could help tailor treatment for lung cancer

MOLECULAR fingerprinting of an individual’s lung cancer may help in tailoring therapy and predicting outcome, studies presented at an international medical conference in Dublin yesterday suggest.

Scientists can now show that protein profiles obtained from a tiny amount of tumour tissue can be used to predict the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes. Involvement of the lymph nodes is a crucial factor in determining treatment strategies.

Lung cancer is the number one cause of cancer deaths among men and women in Ireland. On average, 1,580 new cases are diagnosed annually and 1,500 people die from the disease.

Molecular fingerprinting, or proteomics, is the study of the proteins produced by genes and is widely considered the next frontier in biomedical research after the definition of the human genome.

Speaking at the British Thoracic Oncology Group (BTOG) conference, American cancer research expert Dr David Carbone said lung cancers behaved differently, making it impossible for doctors to predict how patients are likely to respond to drugs and which tumours are likely to become invasive.

Being able to use molecular markers to divide patients into high or low-risk groups would also be useful in determining treatment strategy, he said.

“This information could help patients and families, with their physicians, decide the most appropriate action, which could range from more aggressive therapy at the outset to avoiding therapies that are more likely to hurt quality of life for the patient than to extend that life.”

Consultant oncologist at St James’s Hospital in Dublin and chairman of the BTOG, Dr Ken O’Byrne, said if the studies are confirmed using larger numbers of patients, the technology could have significant implications for the clinical management of lung cancer in the future.

The primary aim of the BTOG is to improve the care of patients with thoracic malignancies through multidisciplinary clinical and scientific research and education.

* Anyone concerned about their risk of lung cancer can contact the Irish Cancer Society National Cancer Helpline freefone 1800 200 700.