VISION Trial Demonstrates Liquid Biopsy Is Comparable to Tissue Biopsy for NSCLC

Paul K. Paik, MD, a medical oncologist and clinical director of the Thoracic Oncology Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the benefits to using liquid biopsy compared to a tissue biopsy, particularly in the phase II VISION trial in which patients with non—small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring MET alterations were treated with tepotinib. Patients were divided into 2 cohorts based on whether they were enrolled with either a liquid biopsy or tumor biopsy.

A unique feature of this trial is that patients could get a liquid biopsy to enroll; tissue biopsy was not a necessary component for enrollment to be included in the VISION trial. Paik says that the data collected and analyzed in the liquid biopsy cohort were similar to that of the tissue biopsy cohort. Rates of response were similar whether patients received a liquid biopsy or tumor biopsy, by both independent and investigator assessments.