Best Practices to Define, Care for Lung Cancer

When wondering what step to take first after learning of your cancer diagnosis, assembling the right care team and creating a treatment plan designed uniquely is important to get you on the right track. Comprehensive biomarker testing can then help identify your type of lung cancer and help move steps forward for proper care.

A lung cancer diagnosis can bring along many emotions and questions. Assembling the right care team and creating a treatment plan designed uniquely for you is important to get you on the right track.

One of the first things to understand is that not all lung cancers are the same. Comprehensive biomarker testing can identify specific mutations, or genetic drivers, in your cancer called biomarkers. These mutations cause cancer to grow and spread in different ways.

Comprehensive biomarker testing is used for people living with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) to determine the presence of particular mutations or proteins in tumors. It's the first step in precision medicine and helps ensure a patient gets matched to the right treatment at the right time based on the cancer's biomarker status.



What Steps Should be Taken to Complete Comprehensive Biomarker Testing?

  • Talk: Knowing your biomarkers can help your health care team treat your unique type of NSCLC. The first step is to talk to your healthcare team about comprehensive biomarker testing so you don't miss any potentially crucial information or treatment options. It is important to ask for comprehensive biomarker testing so your doctor tests for all recommended biomarkers. You'll also want to explore whether comprehensive biomarker testing is covered by your private insurance, Medicare or Medicaid plan.

How is Comprehensive Biomarker Testing Done?




Comprehensive biomarker testing results are analyzed by a pathologist and recorded in a pathology report. It's recommended to get a copy of your pathology report for your own information and have it available to show other doctors, if necessary.