Lung cancers become resistant to targeted drug therapy, a new study says.

According to Health Day News, researchers at the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center studied tumor samples from 37 patients with non-small cell lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer death worldwide, and identified two new genetic changes associated with resistance.

They also discovered that “the cellular nature of some tumors changes in response to treatment and that genetic mutations associated with drug resistance can disappear after treatment is halted.”

The findings emphasize the importance of monitoring the molecular status of lung cancer tumors throughout the treatment process

“It is really remarkable how much we oncologists assume about a tumor based on a single biopsy taken at one time, usually the time of diagnosis,” lead author Dr. Lecia Sequist said in an MGH news release. “Many cancers can evolve in response to exposure to different therapies over time, and we may be blind to the implications of these changes simply because we haven’t been looking for them.”

Want to earn some spare money as a writer for us? Send us an email!