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Bay Biosciences provides high-quality biopsy tissue samples, formalin fixed paraffin embedded (FFPE) tissue blocks, with matched fresh frozen sera (serum), plasma, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) bio-fluids, from patients diagnosed with stage-4 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

The sera (serum), plasma and PBMC biofluid specimens are processed from patient’s peripheral whole-blood using customized collection and processing protocols from stage-4 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Fresh frozen tissue and matched biofluid samples are collected from unique patients diagnosed with stage-4 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Bio-samples are provided to a valued pharmaceutical customer for research, diagnostics, discovery and drug development.

Stage-4 Non-small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)

Stage-4 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), also called metastatic lung cancer, is, without a doubt, the most advanced stage of NSCLC disease. Specifically, it describes any size and type of NSCLC (adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, large cell carcinoma) that has spread from one lung to the other lung.

Moreover, it can also spread to another region of the body, or to the fluid around the lung or heart. Consequently, stage 4 NSCLC is not curable; however, it is treatable. In fact, almost 40% of patients who learn they have lung cancer are already at stage 4 of the disease when they are newly diagnosed.

Furthermore, about 90% of lung cancer cases result from smoking and the use of tobacco products. Nevertheless, other factors such as radon gas, asbestos, air pollution exposures, and chronic infections can contribute to lung carcinogenesis. In recent years, therefore, several advances in treatments of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have significantly improved survival.

Staging Non-small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)

The first step to diagnosing stage-4 cancer is, first and foremost, an X-ray or computed tomography (CT) scan; however, doctors usually need to perform a lung biopsy to make a clear determination.

To determine what stage your cancer is, healthcare providers, therefore, use a standard system from the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC). They call it the TNM system, with each letter in the acronym standing for a different observable characteristic of the cancer.

• Tumor (T): Specifically, pathologists measure the size of the primary tumor and how close it is to other body organs.
• Nodes (N): In addition, several tests are performed to determine whether the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes.
• Metastasis (M): Furthermore, using scans, biopsies, genetic testing, or other means, doctors check whether lung cancer cells have spread to distant organs such as the brain, bones, adrenal glands, liver, or the other lung.

Ultimately, numbers or letters are used after the T, N, and M notations to indicate how advanced the tumor, lymph node progression, and metastases are.

Stage-4 cancer is broken into two groups: 4A and 4B (with 4B being the most advanced).

 

Cancer Stage	T, N, M Designations	Description
4A	T1, T2, T3, or T4 N1, N2, or N3 M1a or M1b	Size: Any Spread: Cancer has spread to lymph nodes and/or other parts of the body M1a metastases criteria: •Spread to the other lung  •Found in the fluid around the lung •Found in the fluid around the heart M1b metastases criteria: A tumor has spread to a lymph node or an organ outside the chest.
4B	T1, T2, T3, or T4 N1, N2, or N3 M1c	Size: Any Spread:Cancer has spread to lymph nodes and/or other parts of the body. M1c metastases criteria: More than one tumor has spread to distant lymph nodes. and/or to other organs outside the chest.

Signs and Symptoms of NSCLC

Following are the common signs and symptoms of NSCLC:

• Firstly, fatigue
• Secondly, cough
• Thirdly, shortness of breath
• In addition, chest pain, if a tumor spreads to the lining of the lung or other parts of the body near the lungs
• Moreover, loss of appetite
• Furthermore, coughing up phlegm or mucus
• Additionally, coughing up blood
• Finally, hoarseness
• Lastly, unexplained weight loss

Metastasis

NSCLC can spread anywhere in the body through a process called metastasis. It most commonly spreads to the lymph nodes, other parts of the lungs, bones, brain, liver, and structures near the kidneys called the adrenal glands. Metastases from NSCLC can cause:

• Abdominal pain 
• Back pain
• More problems breathing
• Bone pain
• Headaches
• Seizures
• Speech difficulties
• Weakness

Symptoms

Symptoms such as fatigue, fever, pain, cough, feeling sick, and loss of appetite are not necessarily caused by metastases. In fact, cancer anywhere in the body can cause a person to feel unwell in a general way.

Moreover, loss of appetite can cause weight loss and muscle loss. As a result, fatigue and weakness can further worsen a person’s ability to breathe. Additionally, muscle loss also contributes to weakness and loss of mobility.

Once doctors diagnose the cancer, relieving symptoms remains an important part of cancer care and treatment. This, in turn, may be called palliative care. Furthermore, it is often started soon after the cancer diagnosis and continues throughout treatment.

Causes of NSCLC

Although researchers do not know the exact causes of developing lung cancer, they know many of the risk factors for developing lung cancers and how some of them cause cells to become cancerous.

Smoking

First and foremost, smoking is by far the leading cause of lung cancer. In fact, about 80% of lung cancer deaths are caused by smoking, and many others are caused by exposure to secondhand smoke.

Thus, smoking is clearly the strongest risk factor for lung cancer, but it often interacts with other factors. For instance, smokers exposed to other known risk factors such as radon and asbestos face an even higher risk. However, not everyone who smokes gets lung cancer, so other factors like genetics probably play a role as well.

Causes in Non-Smokers

Not all patients who develop lung cancer are smokers. For instance, many people with lung cancer are former smokers, but many others never smoked at all. Moreover, it is rare for someone who has never smoked to be diagnosed with small cell lung cancer (SCLC); however, it can happen.

In addition, lung cancer in non-smokers can be caused by exposure to radon, secondhand smoke, air pollution, or other factors. Furthermore, workplace exposures to asbestos, diesel or exhaust, or certain other chemicals can also cause lung cancers in some people who don’t smoke.

Interestingly, lung cancers in non-smokers often differ from those that occur in smokers. Specifically, they tend to occur in younger people and often have certain gene changes that differ from those in tumors found in smokers. Consequently, in some cases, doctors can use these gene changes to guide treatment.

Genetic Changes that may Lead to Lung Cancer

Researchers know how some of the risk factors for lung cancer can cause certain changes in the DNA of lung cells. Consequently, these changes can lead to abnormal cell growth and, sometimes, cancer. Furthermore, DNA is the chemical in our cells that makes up our genes, which control how our cells function.

In addition, DNA, which comes from both our parents, affects more than just how we look. Specifically, it also can influence our risk for developing certain diseases, including some kinds of cancer.

Moreover, some genes help control when cells grow, divide to make new cells, and die:

• For instance, oncogenes help cells grow, divide, or stay alive.
• Conversely, tumor suppressor genes help control cell division or cause cells to die at the right time.

Ultimately, DNA changes can turn on oncogenes or turn off tumor suppressor genes and cause cancer. Notably, changes in many different genes usually need to occur to cause lung cancer.

Inherited Gene Changes

Some people inherit DNA mutations (changes) from their parents that greatly increase their risk for developing certain cancers. However, inherited mutations alone do not cause many lung cancers.

Nevertheless, genes seem to play a role in some families with a history of lung cancer. For example, people who inherit certain DNA changes in a particular chromosome (chromosome 6) are more likely to develop lung cancer, even if they don’t smoke or only smoke a little.

Additionally, some people seem to inherit a reduced ability to break down or get rid of certain types of cancer-causing chemicals in the body, such as those found in tobacco smoke. Consequently, this could put them at higher risk for lung cancer.

Moreover, other people inherit faulty DNA repair mechanisms that make it more likely they will end up with DNA changes. Specifically, people with DNA repair enzymes that don’t work normally might be vulnerable to cancer-causing chemicals and radiation.

Furthermore, some NSCLCs make too much of the EGFR protein (which comes from an abnormal EGFR gene). This gene change occurs more often with adenocarcinoma of the lung in young, non-smoking, Asian women; however, the excess EGFR protein has also been observed in more than 60% of metastatic NSCLCs.

Acquired Genetic Changes

Gene changes related to lung cancer usually acquire during life rather than inherit. Specifically, acquired mutations in lung cells often result from exposure to factors in the environment, such as cancer-causing chemicals in tobacco smoke. However, some gene changes may just be random events that sometimes happen inside a cell, without having an outside cause.

In fact, researchers think that acquired changes in certain genes, such as the RB1 tumor suppressor gene, are important in the development of SCLC.

Similarly, researchers think that acquired changes in genes such as the p16 tumor suppressor gene and the K-RAS oncogene are important in the development of NSCLC. Moreover, changes in the TP53 tumor suppression gene and to chromosome 3 can be seen in both NSCLC and SCLC.

Consequently, not all lung cancers share the same gene changes, so there are undoubtedly changes in other genes that have not yet been found.

Treatment of NSCLC

Non-small cell lung cancer makes up much of lung cancer cases and, consequently, tends to be less aggressive.

Approximately 85%of people with a diagnosis of lung cancer experience a type called non-small cell lung cancer. Specifically, the term non-small cell lung cancer encompasses multiple subtypes of lung cancer, including adenocarcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and large cell carcinoma.

Furthermore, the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer depends on the stage, location, size, and number of tumors. Below, we therefore explore the role of medications in the treatment plan as well as other treatment options.

Chemotherapy

Dosage

In general, healthcare professionals typically administer chemotherapy through an IV infusion or injection directly into the bloodstream. Alternatively, people can sometimes take the medication in oral pill form.

Furthermore, healthcare professionals usually prescribe chemotherapy in cycles, meaning a person will need to undergo repeated instances of taking the medication and having rest periods.

In addition, a chemotherapy cycle may last around 3–4 weeks, and people may complete four to six cycles over the course of treatment.

Side Effects

Additionally, potential side effects of chemotherapy may include:

• Anemia
• Appetite changes
• Bruising and bleeding
• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Fatigue
• Fertility problems
• Hair loss
• Infections
• Memory and concentration problems
• Mouth sores
• Nausea
• Skin and nail changes
• Sleep disturbances
• Vomiting

Immunotherapy

Immunotherapy uses medications to help the immune system find and destroy cancer cells more effectively. Moreover, typical cells go through stages of growth and death to constantly replace older cells with new ones. However, cancer cells bypass this process and contain mutations that stop the immune system from attacking them.

Immunotherapy medications target specific proteins in cancer cells to boost the immune system’s response.

Dosage

Administering immunotherapy medication occurs through IV infusions. In general, the frequency and dose depend on the type of medication and cancer stage.

Targeted Therapy

Gene Changes

In addition, mutations in genes are often caused by cancer, and several gene mutations common in non-small cell lung cancer have been identified by researchersTrusted Source.

Consequently, drugs to target these changes have been developed. Identifying the type of mutations allows a more personalized approach to treatment to be recommended by healthcare professionals.

Moreover, targeted gene therapy medications focus on the mutated gene to stop and kill cancer cells.

Types

Other Treatments

Outlook

Biospecimens

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.

Human biospecimens are available including cancer (tumor) tissue, cancer serum, cancer plasma, cancer peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). and human tissue samples from most other therapeutic areas and diseases.

Bay Biosciences maintains and manages its own biorepository, the human tissue bank (biobank) consisting of thousands of diseased samples (specimens) and from normal healthy donors for controls, available in all formats and types.

In fact, our biobank procures and stores fully consented, de-identified and institutional review boards (IRB) approved human tissue samples, human biofluids such as serum samples, plasma samples from various diseases and matched controls.

Also, all our human tissue collections, human biospecimens and human biofluids are provided with detailed, samples associated patient’s clinical data.

In fact, this critical patient’s clinical data includes information relating to their past and current disease, treatment history, lifestyle choices, biomarkers, and genetic information.

Additionally, researchers find the patient’s data associated with the human biospecimens extremely valuable and use it to help identify new effective treatments (drug discovery & development) in oncology, as well as in other therapeutic areas and diseases.

Bay Biosciences banks wide variety of human tissue samples and human biological samples, including fresh frozen human biospecimens cryogenically preserved at – 80°C.

For example fresh frozen tissue samples, tumor tissue samples, formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE), tissue slides, with matching human bio-fluids, whole blood and blood-derived products such as human serum, human plasma and human PBMCs.

Bay Biosciences is a global leader in collecting and providing human tissue samples according to the specified requirements and customized, tailor-made collection protocols.

Please contact us anytime to discuss your special research projects and customized human tissue sample requirements.

Types of Biospecimens

Bay Biosciences provides human tissue samples (human specimens) and human biofluids 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)
• Saliva
• Buffy coat
• Urine
• Stool samples
• Aqueous humor
• Vitreous humor
• Kidney stones (renal calculi)
• Other bodily fluids from most diseases including cancer.

Moreover, we can also procure most human biospecimens and human biofluids, special collections and requests for human samples that are difficult to find. All our human tissue samples and human biofluids are procured through IRB-approved clinical protocols and procedures.

In addition to the standard processing protocols, Bay Biosciences can also provide human biofluids such as  human plasma, human serum, and human PBMCs bio-fluid samples using custom processing protocols; you buy donor-specific collections in higher volumes and specified sample aliquots from us.

Bay Biosciences also provides human biospecimens from normal healthy donors; volunteers, for controls and clinical research, Contact us Now.

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