Cancers are often caused by an activating mutation in a specific gene. One common treatment is to use a targeted therapy (as we’ve seen before), which acts to suppress that specific mutation. However patients can have variants in other genes (within the tumour) that may interact with, and potentially cause resistance to, the therapy. In such a situation it is important to know of any possible interactions between the therapy of choice and the different variants.
Take for instance a patient with breast cancer caused by and over-expression of HER2. Typically this would be treated with HER2 targeted therapies such as trastuzumab. However, if the patient also had mutations in the PIK3CA gene, they may be resistant to HER2 therapies, or result in limited response.
Entering these variants in StrandIRIS gives the user a combined view of the variants and potential treatment options. In the case of a combined effect of PIK3CA variant on HER2 positive cancer (as seen in the image below) Lapatinib, Pertuzumab and Trastuzumab are recommended, with reduced response rates as noted.
Thus consulting somatic knowledgebases, such as StrandIRIS, can give you a more holistic view and help provide more personalised recommendations.
Learn more about StrandIRIS here.