Dr. Marshall on the Push Toward Precision Medicine in CRC

John L. Marshall, MD, chief, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Medstar Georgetown University Hospital, professor of medicine and oncology, and director, Otto J. Ruesch Center for the Cure of Gastrointestinal Cancer, Georgetown-Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses the push toward precision medicine in colorectal cancer (CRC).

As CRC is one of the most common gastrointestinal cancers in the world, it has been a driving the uptake of precision medicine, explains Marshall.

Microsatellite instability status is an important aspect of a patient’s disease as it can inform treatment selection, says Marshall.

Molecular aberrations, such as HER2, RAS, and NTRK are also important to identify in metastatic CRC, says Marshall. Moreover, BRAF mutations should be looked for in CRC as they do not only indicate poor prognosis, but are therapeutic driving markers.

Importantly, broad molecular testing should be implemented for patients to look for other abnormalities, such as BRCA, that are not commonly associated with CRC, concludes Marshall.