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Biomarkers

Biomarker testing is a necessary tool in the advancing world of precision cancer treatment. According to a new survey released by CancerCare, a leading national cancer support organization, bimarker testing helped physicians tailor therapy for nearly all the respondent patients (93%) whose cancers were tested over the past 3 years. Two in 10 (20%) patients with cancer surveyed were able to avoid unnecessary chemotherapy and/or radiation and 10% became eligible for a clinical trial. Read More ›

The findings of a survey of US oncologists indicate that practicing oncologists have gaps in their knowledge about biosimilars. Read More ›

The clinical course of prostate cancer is highly variable, reflecting the heterogeneity of the disease. Although most men diagnosed with prostate cancer have low-risk, favorable disease characteristics, some may harbor aggressive features and experience disease progression despite conventional therapy. Therefore, initial risk stratification is vitally important for determining effective treatment strategies and improving clinical outcomes. Read More ›

MicroRNAs have all the characteristics to be a potential game changer as a biomarker in germ-cell tumors (originating in the testes, ovaries, and a few other sites), with high sensitivity, specificity, and clinical validity in pilot studies, said Lucia Nappi, MD, PhD, Medical Oncologist, British Columbia Cancer, Vancouver Centre, Canada, at the 2020 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium. Read More ›

Tumors with high microsatellite instability (MSI-H) are predictive of Lynch syndrome. The recent approval of the first immunotherapies for use in patients with MSI-H or with mismatch repair-deficiency (dMMR) in solid tumors is now leading to routine testing for MSI-H or dMMR in patients with advanced solid tumors. Read More ›

At ASCO 2018, Oncology Practice Management (OPM) discussed the current state of genetics and genomic testing, the increasing understanding of biomarkers, and how they influence the treatment of patients with lung cancer. Read More ›

At ASCO 2018, Oncology Practice Management (OPM) spoke with Roy S. Herbst, MD, PhD, Chief of Medical Oncology and Associate Director for Translational Research at Yale Cancer Center/Smilow Cancer Hospital, New Haven, CT, and David L. Rimm, MD, PhD, Professor of Pathology, Yale University School of Medicine, about the increasing role of biomarkers in the management of patients with lung cancer. Read More ›