Drs. Ben Solomon, Leora Horn, & Jack West assess the utility and limitations of "liquid biopsies", serum-based testing for molecular marker testing in lung cancer.

Liquid biopsies (also called serum testing) is a practice already approved in Europe for EGFR lung cancer patients. Drawing blood to test for acquired resistance is easier and quicker than needle biopsies. How long until it is standard practice in the US?

[powerpress]

Mrs. M was a 46 year-old woman who, despite having never smoked, was diagnosed with metastatic adenocarcinoma of the lung. She had a nice initial response to chemotherapy, and when she eventually progressed, she was treated with Iressa (an EGFR inhibitor similar to Tarceva which is no longer available in the US). To both her and her doctor’s delight, she had near resolution of her lung mass and most of her liver lesions after 2 months on Iressa. Unfortunately, after remaining stable for 10 months, her restaging CT scan showed one lesion in the liver was growing.