Biomarkers

Although biomarker-driven targeted therapies for gastric cancer have advanced significantly, many eligible patients are not receiving these treatments, highlighting the urgent need to overcome barriers such as insufficient biomarker testing and socioeconomic disparities.

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, biomarker testing helped physicians tailor therapy for nearly all the respondent patients (93%) whose cancers were tested over the past 3 years.

Patients with “early-onset cancer”—that is, cancers that typically do not occur in younger adults (aged 18-39)—had a significantly higher rate of germline mutations than patients with the “young adult cancers” that are typically seen in this age-group (21% vs 13%, respectively; P = .002), according to results of a new study. The results were presented at the 2020 AACR virtual annual meeting and were highlighted at a meeting press cast.