Mesothelioma Research - Genetically profiling tumors as a way to select chemotherapy

A new wave of cancer research has led to the idea that using a single type of chemotherapy, radiation, or treatment routine may not be the best route to deal with every type of malignant tumor. Instead, scientists are using new genetic testing methods to examine tumors and determine the correct treatment options for each different form of the disease.

Recently, after doctors learned that forty percent of the patients diagnosed with advanced colon cancer do not respond to two of the leading chemotherapy drugs, Vectibix and Erbitux, oncologists are now advising that patients receive genetic tests to insure that they will receive the maximum benefits from these pharmaceuticals. Other such tests are being conducted to determine the efficacy of current chemotherapy treatments for certain cancers of the lung and breast. The idea with these tests is that they will be able to create a genetic profile of the patient’s tumor, ascertain whether the current treatment regimen would be effective, and make any changes as needed.

One major benefit to come from this approach is to relieve any unneeded financial stress. In the instance of colon cancer, an oncologist would run a genetic test on a cell sample from a tumor to determine if the recommended treatment routine would benefit the patient. The test, which detects a gene known as KRAS, costs $300, compared to the $10,000 per month cost of chemotherapy drugs. Researchers with the American Society of Clinical Oncology estimate that tests such as these could save patients over half a billion dollars per year in preventing unneeded and ineffective chemotherapy.

Another way that these tests help patients is in limiting the side effects they often experience while undergoing chemotherapy. Many patients endure nausea, vomiting, lack of appetite and hair loss due to chemotherapy drugs. If the drugs are not up to the task of treating the tumor, then the patients go through these ordeals without receiving the benefits of the treatment. With the use of genetic testing on tumor cells, patients can get the drugs that they need without having to put up with unnecessary side effects, which often require other expensive medications to keep under control.

Genetic tests can also eliminate much of the trial and error that occurs during mesotheloma treatment. Under the current model, doctors will prescribe a chemotherapy routine, often without the certainty of knowing that their specific regimen will work on the patient’s type of cancer. As the patient continues to go through tests, treatment, and rising costs, they may have to endure several rounds of chemotherapy before they find the right drugs or dosage levels that will effectively treat the disease. If doctors can conduct genetic tests on the tumor, they can often create a treatment schedule that works faster, is more effective, less expensive and easier on the patient.

Researchers at the Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy at Duke University have pioneered this approach and published an article regarding their results in the academic journal Nature Medicine. In the article, they stated that their series of tests had an accuracy rate of eighty percent in determining which chemotherapy drugs would have the most benefit in fighting that specific type of cancer.

Sources:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/02/16/health/main4804585.shtml
http://healthinfoispower.wordpress.com/2009/03/14/massachusetts-general-...
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061023092108.htm

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