Dr. Husain on the Evolution of Liquid Biopsies in Lung Cancer

Hatim Husain, MD, medical oncologist and associate professor of medicine, Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego, discusses the evolution of liquid biopsies in lung cancer.

As proof-of-concept studies have demonstrated the efficacy of using liquid biopsies to identify EGFR mutations, the utility of plasma-based testing has grown, explains Husain. Recently, the lung cancer field has moved toward implementing liquid biopsies upon diagnosis as it can significantly reduce the time to initial treatment compared with tissue-based testing.

Additionally, the technology of liquid biopsy has evolved from digital polymerase chain reaction to next-generation sequencing (NGS), says Husain.

With NGS, various genetic alterations, rearrangements, and amplifications can be identified with liquid biopsy, says Husain.

However, tissue-based testing should be utilized if liquid biopsy results are negative to maximize the chance of identifying genomic aberrations, concludes Husain.