Biomarker Testing
Know your tumor’s molecular profile
If you’ve been diagnosed with cancer, one of the most important steps you can take is comprehensive biomarker testing — also called molecular profiling or genomic testing. This testing analyzes your tumor’s DNA and RNA to identify specific genetic alterations that may be driving your cancer’s growth. Without it, you and your care team may not know what targeted therapies are available to you.
For MET-altered cancers specifically, biomarker testing is the only way to confirm which alteration you have — MET exon 14 skipping, MET amplification, MET overexpression, or MET fusion — and that distinction matters. Different alterations respond to different drugs. Generic cancer treatment, without this information, may miss a therapy that could significantly extend your life.
Test at diagnosis. Test at every progression.
Tumors change over time. A MET alteration that wasn’t present at your original diagnosis may emerge as a resistance mechanism to treatment. Repeat testing when your cancer progresses gives you and your oncologist the most current picture of what you’re dealing with — and what can be done about it.
What to ask for
Ask your oncologist for comprehensive next-generation sequencing (NGS) — a multi-gene panel that tests for many alterations at once. Single-gene tests may miss alterations that a broader panel would catch. RNA-based sequencing tends to capture MET fusions and MET exon 14 skipping more reliably than DNA-based tests alone. For MET overexpression, a separate IHC (immunohistochemistry) test is required — NGS alone will not detect it.
Testing can be done on tumor tissue (tissue biopsy) or on a blood sample (liquid biopsy). Both have a role. If getting a tissue sample isn’t possible, a liquid biopsy can still provide actionable information.