- Needle biopsies assay on 33 pretherapy primaries and 17 mBCs. NGS of 3,230 exons in 182 cancer-related genes and 37 introns in 14 genes.
- 117 "potentially" targetable driver mutations were identified (mean: 2.3 in primary tumors, 2.8 in mBCs); however, further research is needed.
One of several ASCO presentations in a variety of solid tumors on the now commercially available FoundationOneTM assay, this study of 50 patients with breast cancer — like similar reports in lung, prostate and colorectal cancer — documented that fine needle biopsies provided enough tissue to adequately perform the test. Even more relevant was that multiple potentially “targetable” mutations were found in all these specimens. Although the authors suggest that some of these targets may correlate with benefit from approved agents (eg, crizotinib for ALK translocations), and it might be tempting to consider ordering the assay for patients who have run out of conventional options, this concept has not yet been tested. In that regard, it is worth reflecting on the wholly disappointing experience with BRAF inhibitors for patients with V600E mutation-positive colorectal cancer and appreciating that the term “targetable” is highly theoretical at this point in time.
