Non Small Cell Lung Cancer – Stage IV Adenocarcinoma

Transcript

The type of non small cell lung cancer that has the highest chance of carrying one of these targetable actionable mutations is adenocarcinoma. We classically look for these mutations in this cancer type, and it is very important to get it tested because your functional status doesn’t have to be as high as for cytotoxic chemotherapy. It can take up to two weeks sometimes, depending on the testing center, to come back. But again, it can qualify you for oral therapy, which on average could go maybe 12, 15 months with almost a complete remission, so you can have a full quality of life during that time before needing chemotherapy. In addition, if you have one of these mutations, you usually get into better health and gain weight and get stronger than you did when you presented with stage four metastatic cancer. So it gives you an opportunity to tolerate future therapies better than you may not have been able to, should you not have been positive for one of these actionable mutations.