Examining NTRK Gene Fusions in Thyroid Cancer

Marcia S. Brose, MD, PhD, FASCO, professor, Department of Medical Oncology, Sidney Kimmel Medical College Thomas Jefferson University, vice chair, Department of Medical Oncology Jefferson Northeast, chief of Cancer Services, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center-Jefferson Northeast, associate director of Community Based Clinical Research, SKCC chair of Hematology/Oncology, Jefferson Torresdale Hospital, discusses NTRK fusions and identifying patients with thyroid cancer.

NTRK gene fusions are key molecular markers in thyroid cancer and are a predictor of a response to a TRK inhibitor. Patients who have this molecular marker are candidates for an additional therapy that those without the marker are ineligible for.

Further, the presence of NTRK fusions in patients with thyroid cancer can aid in diagnosing, determining prognosis, and selecting the optimal treatment plans.

Transcription:

0:08 | We don't really use it so much for the diagnosis and prognosis in thyroid cancer as much as we do it as part of the treatment planning. It's predictive of a response to a TRK inhibitor, and therefore, if somebody has that molecular marker, it identifies them as being a candidate for an additional therapy that a patient without that marker would not be eligible for.

0:36 | We tend to check for NTRK fusions, when we find a patient who needs systemic therapy. In thyroid cancer, particularly in differentiated thyroid cancer, that tends to be once a patient is deemed not curable by either surgery or radioactive iodine alone.