Patient Education and Empowerment Series:  What You Need To Know About Precision Oncology in GI Cancers

The process of tissue testing in GI Cancers

• What is a biopsy?
• Where do we get the tissue from?
• When do we test tissue?
• What do we do with tissue?
• Why does testing take so long
• What can be expected from the testing?
• How does testing help with staging GI cancer?

Genetic and molecular testing in GI cancers

• What are physicians looking for when they recommend molecular testing in GI cancers?
• What are they looking for when they recommend genetic testing in GI cancers?
• Immunohistochemistry
• NGS profiling
• Tissue vs ctDNA testing

What is molecular testing and how does this differ among different GI cancers?
What molecular biomarkers do guidelines recommend routinely testing for in clinical practice?

• MSI, HER2, PD-L1, BRAF
• Is an NRG fusion something that a typical testing panel looks for in patients with GI cancers?
• If not, how should clinicians test for this gene alteration?
• Which patients should be tested for NRG alteration and when should they be tested?
• What are some of the current barriers to molecular testing in GI cancers?
• What strategies do you recommend for improving testing rates?

Brief review for audience on how testing is done (previously on webinar 1….)

• Who orders and how long?
• Strategies for testing
• What molecular and genetic markers are routinely tested for in GI cancers?
• RAS, EGFR, BRAF, MSI, HER2, PD-L1
• FGFR, IDH, NRG1
• Fusions
• How do the results from molecular and genetic testing inform clinicians regarding next
• steps in patient management?
• How do the results translate to treatments? (ie, available targeted therapies in
• GI cancers)

How can patients interpret molecular and genetic testing results in GI cancers?

• What is important for patients to know about their results of molecular and genetic testing
• How are patients included in these discussions?
• Relationship between testing and enrollment into clinical trials in GI cancers
• Participating in trials – What is worth traveling for? Trials are getting very specific
• What is MRD?
• Why do we look at this?
• What tests are used to detect MRD?

Immunotherapy

• What is immunotherapy? How does this work to target the cancer?
• How is immunotherapy different than traditional chemotherapy?
• What are some of the advantages to using immunotherapy over traditional
• chemotherapy?
• What are some of the common immunotherapies that are used in GI cancers?
• What should patients know about immunotherapy?
• Adverse events
• Treatment duration
• What to expect when receiving immunotherapy

Targeted Therapy

• What is targeted therapy? How does targeted therapy work?
• How is targeted therapy different from chemotherapy? Immunotherapy?
• Which molecular targets are important to identify in patients with GI cancers (ie, NTRK, BRAFV600E, HER2, etc)
• What are some of the common targeted therapies used in GI cancers (ie, TKIs)?
• What should patients know about targeted therapies?
• Adverse events
• Treatment duration
• What to expect when receiving treatment