betty72
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Posts:1
Hi,
I have a couple of questions for a member of my familly who have just been diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer - adenocarninome, stade 4. She is waiting results for the EGFR or ALK tests in case of a targeted therapy is possible, if not possible she knows already that she'll get the carboplatin and penetrex. I'm wondering:
- Are the any other genes she should be tested for?
- I heard that targeted therapy could be benefit for patients without the EGFR or ALK transformation, is it right?
- Are you aware of any clinical trial I could look for or any beneficial traitments to read and think about. We are in Canada Montreal.
Thank you
Forums
Reply # - March 30, 2014, 06:45 AM
Reply To: Treatment – non small cell lung cancer –
Re: #1. Not really. Although there are hundreds of other molecular items to test for, there is insufficient evidence for any of them to direct routine decisions for standard treatment in this setting. The only exception is ROS1, which is reasonable to test for, but quite rare (<1%).
Re: #2. Iressa, Tarceva or Xalkori are probably inferior to standard initial chemotherapy for patients who do not have the EGFR or ALK transformation.
Re #3. Forgive me, I'm not familiar with the trials in that region. I suggest looking in clinicaltrials.gov, or better asking your oncologist about clinical trial options. I agree it is always smarter to think about trial options early, than waiting until you may be too sick or ineligible. Hope this helps.
Reply # - March 30, 2014, 08:40 AM
Reply To: Treatment – non small cell lung cancer –
Just to underscore, probably the leading way to find out about clinical trials is to call the cancer research division or seek a consultation at a leading academic or other large medical center in the area. They likely have the best probability of having a clinical trial that might be appealing as an alternative to a standard therapy approach.
-Dr.West
Reply # - March 31, 2014, 08:56 AM
Reply To: Treatment – non small cell lung cancer –
Betty72, I welcome you with a saddened hear that you find yourself on this site as a caregiver! With that being said this is an awesome site to get answers to your questions! Besides an excellent staff there are many people here with excellent tips and good advise! I sure hope they find out weather your family member is positive for one of the mutations before they have to do Chemo! All need to stay positive so I should say when they find the mutation! I'm on Xalkori for ALK. Lorrie