Bay Biosciences provides high-quality, fresh frozen biopsy tissue samples. FFPE tissue blocks with matched fresh frozen sera (serum), plasma, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) bio-fluids, from lung cancer patients diagnosed with multiple genetic mutations.
The sera (serum), plasma and PBMC biofluid specimens are processed from lung cancer patient’s with multiple genetic mutations, peripheral whole-blood using customized collection and processing protocols.
Fresh frozen tissue and matched biofluid samples are collected from unique patients diagnosed with lung cancer.
Bio-samples are provided to a valued pharmaceutical customer for research, diagnostics, discovery and drug development.
Genes
Genes are pieces of DNA inside each of our cells. They tell the cell what to do and how to divide, which is the way cells multiply. Scientists give each gene a name to remember them.
Gene Mutations
Mutations are permanent changes in the DNA. They can affect how a cell works. For example, they may have an impact on how it grows and divides.
Sometimes mutations are passed to us from our parents. These are called “inherited” or “hereditary” gene changes.
In lung cancer, mutations usually are not inherited, these changes are called “acquired” mutations, which occur during our lifetime.
Outside factors of your body, such as breathing in tobacco smoke, can lead to gene mutations. Air pollution, certain chemicals, and radon gas can also cause gene mutations.
In some lung cancer cases, these acquired gene mutations are just random things that happen. The DNA changes inside the cell without any outside trigger.
How Gene Mutations Cause Cancer
Changes in the DNA can have two big effects:
- It can “turn on” the genes that help our cells grow, divide, or stay alive.
- Or it can “turn off” the genes that ensures the cells divide or die at the right time.
As a result of all these genetic changes some cells can become cancerous and grow out of control.
Types of NSCLC Genetic Mutations
Scientists are continuously working to discover new kinds of gene mutations. So far, they’ve discovered more than a dozen that are linked to Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Following are some of the common mutations found in patients with Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC):
- KRAS: This gene controls a protein called “epidermal growth factor receptor.” This protein helps the cells grow and divide. An EGFR mutation is more common in women, patients who don’t smoke, and those with the adenocarcinoma type of NSCLC.
- EGFR: The KRAS gene plays a role in making a protein called K-Ras, which helps cells grow and divide. Patients with adenocarcinoma type of NSCLC are more likely to have a KRAS mutation.
- FGFR1: A mutation on this gene also affects how the cells grow and spread. It’s more likely to happen if a patient has the squamous carcinoma type of NSCLC. Smoking also raises the risk of this mutation.
- ALK: In this mutation, two genes fuse together to create a new one. ALK mutations often show up in patients who never or rarely smoked and have the adenocarcinoma type of NSCLC. It’s also more common in younger patients, such as those in their 50s, and men.
- MET: When you have this kind of mutation, there’s a glitch that creates too many copies of the MET gene. This causes cells to live too long, divide, and spread. It happens if you have the squamous or adenocarcinoma types of NSCLC.
- PIK3CA: This gene plays a role in how your cells grow and divide. You’re more likely to have a mutation on this gene if you’re a smoker. It also happens if you have the squamous or adenocarcinoma type of NSCLC.
- BRAF: A change to this gene is more common if you have the adenocarcinoma type of NSCLC.
- ROS1: This mutation is similar to the ALK one. It’s more likely to happen if you have the adenocarcinoma kind of NSCLC, haven’t smoked, and are younger.
- RET: This type of mutation happens only if you have the adenocarcinoma kind of NSCLC. It’s more common in nonsmokers.
- HER2: A mutation on this gene encourages the growth of cancer cells. This most often happens in patients who have adenocarcinoma NSCLC. It’s more common among women and people who never or rarely smoked.
- NTRK: In this mutation, the NTRK gene fuses with other genes. Research shows men and women from all age groups and NSCLC types can have this happen. Smokers and nonsmokers alike can also get it.
- MEK1: Mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 1 (MEK1), a small molecular substance belonging to the family of receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs), has a key function in the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade. Blockage of MEK protein may affect tumors with mutated Ras proteins or other proteins influenced by MAPK pathway.
Anyone can get a gene mutation that causes lung cancer. But researchers have noticed that some mutations tend to show up more often in certain groups of people, like smokers or nonsmokers, or men or women.
Here’s how some common mutations affect the way the cancer grows, and who’s likely to get them.
Types of Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) Tumors
The type of gene mutation you have often depends on what kind of lung cancer you have. There are three main types of NSCLC:
- Squamous Cell Carcinoma: The cancer begins in squamous cells, the flat cells that line the inside of the lung airways.
- Adenocarcinoma. The disease starts in cells that release substances, like mucus.
- Large Cell carcinoma. This cancer shows up in any part of the lung.
The Stage of Cancer
After the patient receive a lung cancer diagnosis, your doctor will want to find out where the cancer is in your body. This process is called staging.
Lung cancers are divided into two main types: small cell lung cancers and non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC).
There are five general stages for lung cancer and are numbered from stage 0 to stage 4.
Each general stage also gets a number and letter (A or B). Cancer with a lower number or the letter A has spread less than cancer with a higher number or the letter B.
Lung cancer can also be detected in samples before it presents as a tumor. This is known as an “occult” or “hidden” cancer.
Early stage NSCLCs haven’t grown beyond the lung. Surgery may be an option for these tumors.
Once the cancer has spread outside the lung, treatments include chemotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, and radiation therapy.
Some cancers spread faster than others. These need different kinds of treatment.
Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) Genetic Mutations
Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the most common kind of lung cancer. Between 80 to 85 percent of all lung cancers are NSCLC.
In the past, most patients with NSCLC used to get the same treatment. That might have included surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or a combination of these treatments.
Cancer is caused by changes in genes that control cell growth and division. These mutations allow cells to grow out of control to form tumors.
Researchers have discovered that all lung cancers are not the same. Cancer cells can be linked to a number of different genetic mutations that help tumors grow.
This discovery led to the introduction of targeted drugs that address specific genetic mutations. Targeted treatments block the signals that help certain lung cancers grow. These drugs improve survival in some people whose lung cancers has gene changes.
Gene Mutations Treatments
Certain gene mutations help lung cancers grow and spread. If your test results come back positive for one of these mutations, your doctor can give you a medication that specifically targets the mutation.
Targeted therapies block the pathways that help NSCLC grow and spread. Because these drugs focus on addressing the specific abnormalities that help tumors survive, they’re more effective against cancer than traditional treatments like chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Targeted drugs may also have fewer side effects.
EGFR
Epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFRs) are proteins on the surface of some cancer cells. These help the cells grow and divide. A mutation in the EGFR gene turns on these receptors, which allows cancer cells to grow faster.
About 10 percent of NSCLC patients and 50 percent of lung cancer patients who never smoked have an EGFR mutation.
EGFR inhibitors block the signals that cancers with the EGFR mutation need to grow. Following are group of EFGR inhibitor drugs:
- Afatinib (Gilotrif)
- Dacomitinib (Vizimpro)
- Erlotinib (Tarceva)
- Gefitinib (Iressa)
- Necitumumab (Portrazza)
- Osimertinib (Tagrisso)
ALK
About 5 percent of NSCLCs have a change to the anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) gene. Patients who have an ALK mutation, their cancer may respond to one of the following drugs:
- Alectinib (Alecensa)
- Brigatinib (Alunbrig)
- Ceritinib (Zykadia)
- Crizotinib (Xalkori)
- Lorlatinib (Lorbrena)
KRAS
KRAS mutation is one of the most common lung cancer gene mutations. It’s found in about 25 percent of NSCLCs. Patients who have one of these mutations, may be able to try a new drug in a clinical trial.
MET and METex14
Mesenchymal–epithelial transition (MET) gene is involved in signaling pathways that control cell growth, survival, and spread. The METex14 mutation is a type of MET mutation that’s linked to about 3 to 4 percent of NSCLCs.
Capmatinib (Tabrecta) has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration as a targeted treatment for the METex14 mutation.
ROS1
About one to two percent of NSCLCs have ROS1 genetic mutation. Usually, cancers that are ROS1-positive test negative for ALK, KRAS, and EGFR gene mutations.
The ROS1 mutation is similar to the ALK mutation. Some of the same drugs treat both mutations, including Xalkori and Lorbrena.
Other Gene Mutations
A few other NSCLC gene mutations have their own targeted treatments, including:
- BRAF: dabrafenib (Tafinlar) and trametinib (Mekinist)
- RET: selpercatinib (Retevmo)
- NTRK: entrectinib (Rozlytrek) and larotrectinib (Vitrakvi)
Genetic Counseling
Genetic professionals work as members of health care teams providing information and support to individuals or families who have genetic disorders or may be at risk for inherited conditions.
Your health care provider may refer you to a geneticist, a medical doctor or medical researcher, who specializes in your disease or disorder.
A medical geneticist will make the actual diagnosis of a disease or condition. Many genetic diseases are so rare that only a geneticist can provide the most complete and current information about your condition.
Along with a medical geneticist, you may also be referred to a physician who is a specialist in the type of disorder you have. For example, if a genetic test is positive for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), you might be referred to an oncologist.
Bay Biosciences is a global leader in providing researchers with high quality, clinical grade, fully characterized human tissue samples, bio-specimens and human bio-fluid collections.
Samples available are cancer (tumor) tissue, cancer serum, cancer plasma cancer PBMC and human tissue samples from most other therapeutic areas and diseases.
Bay Biosciences maintains and manages its own bio-repository, human tissue bank (biobank) consisting of thousands of diseased samples (specimens) and from normal healthy donors available in all formats and types.
Our biobank procures and stores fully consented, deidentified and institutional review boards (IRB) approved human tissue samples and matched controls.
All our human tissue collections, human specimens and human bio-fluids are provided with detailed samples associated patient’s clinical data.
This critical patient’s clinical data includes information relating to their past and current disease, treatment history, lifestyle choices, biomarkers and genetic information.
Patient’s data is extremely valuable for researchers and is used to help identify new effective treatments (drug discovery & development) in oncology, other therapeutic areas and diseases.
Bay Biosciences banks wide variety of human tissue samples and biological samples including cryogenically preserved at – 80°C.
Including fresh frozen tissue samples, tumor tissue samples, FFPE’s, tissue slides, with matching human bio-fluids, whole blood and blood derived products such as serum, plasma and PBMC’s.
Bay Biosciences is a global leader in collecting and providing human tissue samples according to the researchers specified requirements and customized, tailor-made collection protocols.
Please contact us anytime to discuss your special research projects and customized human tissue sample requirements.
Bay Biosciences provides human tissue samples (human specimens) from diseased and normal healthy donors which includes:
- Peripheral whole-blood,
- Amniotic fluid
- Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BAL)
- Sputum
- Pleural effusion
- Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)
- Serum (sera)
- Plasma
- Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC’s)
- Saliva
- Buffy coat
- Urine
- Stool samples
- Aqueous humor
- Vitreous humor
- Kidney stones (renal calculi)
- Other bodily fluids from most diseases including cancer.
We can also procure most human bio-specimens and can-do special collections and requests of human samples that are difficult to find. All our human tissue samples are procured through IRB approved clinical protocols and procedures.
In addition to the standard processing protocols Bay Biosciences can also provide human plasma, serum, PBMC bio-fluid samples using custom processing protocols, you can buy donor specific sample collections in higher volumes and specified sample aliquots from us.
Bay Biosciences also provides human samples from normal healthy donors, volunteers, for controls and clinical research, contact us Now.
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