Biopsies in Oncology - Prospective Study of Impact on Patient's Quality of Life.

Over the past decade the paradigm of care in oncology has evolved with the advent of personalized medicine. Yet, despite this exciting prospect, there are currently only a few disease subtypes where therapeutic approaches with proven benefit exist such as EGFR (Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor) targeted therapies in EGFR-mutant lung tumours. With the increasing number of novel molecularly targeted agents available, the importance of building our understanding of cancer biology is critical.

Challenges to implement personalized medicine include the limitations of molecular testing, tumour heterogeneity and molecular evolution, costs, and the quality and morbidity associated with tumour biopsies. Sequential biopsies are essential to better understand biological markers of response and resistance, and identify predictive or prognostic markers. Despite the scientific rationale for biopsies, incorporating them into practice can be challenging, as in many cases there is no direct advantage to the patient. This project aims to understand the effect of research biopsies on the patient. The Investigator hypothesize by learning more and gaining a better appreciation of the impact on the patient, Investigators will increase the likelihood of achieving serial biopsies.

The ability to obtain serial biopsies is dependent on the patient's experience. To understand the clonal progression of cancer and validate predictive and prognostic markers of response, studies now target biopsies both at enrollment and at progression. As Investigators strive to achieve this, improving our understanding of the patient's experience will help us identify factors that positively and negatively impact on patient participation and influence the probability of successfully obtaining sequential samples.