Dr. Luke the Role of Molecular Testing in Melanoma

Jason J. Luke, MD, FACP, an associate professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology and director of the Cancer Immunotherapeutics Center Immunology and Immunotherapy Program at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Hillman Cancer Center, discusses the role of molecular testing in melanoma.

Molecular testing should be incorporated into standard practice to help guide therapeutic options in oncology, says Luke. However, evidence from phase 3 clinical trials should not be discounted, pending molecular testing results. Moreover, molecular testing can offer potential solutions to situations where standard treatment options are not conclusive, Luke explains.

In melanoma, next-generation sequencing does not have to be ordered up front for all patients, says Luke. Instead, ordering molecular testing in patients who don’t have BRAF mutations may help to identify rare mutational variants, such as NTRK fusions and HER2 amplifications, for which therapeutic options are available, concludes Luke.