A breakthrough discovery could revolutionize how we treat lung cancer! Researchers at the Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute have found a way to predict which patients with lung cancer will benefit from a groundbreaking immunotherapy drug called tarlatamab, using a simple blood test. This is a huge step forward in personalized cancer treatment.
The study, published in Cancer Discovery, centers around a specific marker found on tumor cells circulating in the blood. This marker indicates whether a patient with lung cancer will have a lasting positive response to tarlatamab, which was recently approved. This means doctors can now easily and non-invasively determine who is most likely to benefit from this potentially life-saving drug.
"Isolating cancer cells from the blood holds immense promise for guiding immune-related cancer therapies," explains Dr. Daniel A. Haber, a lead author of the study. His team has developed cutting-edge bioengineering technologies to purify these circulating tumor cells. They've learned a lot about the biology of these cells, but a test with direct clinical relevance was missing. This study appears to have achieved just that. The blood cell enrichment technology is now licensed to TellBio, Inc.
The research focused on whether characteristics of circulating tumor cells could predict a patient's response to tarlatamab. This drug was fully approved in late 2025 for small cell lung cancer (SCLC) after prior chemotherapy. Tarlatamab works by recruiting T cells to target cancer cells that express a specific neuro-endocrine marker called DLL3.
But here's where it gets controversial... While tarlatamab showed promise in clinical trials, about half of SCLC patients experience cancer progression within six months of starting treatment. The researchers discovered that not all SCLC cases express DLL3. In fact, only half of the 20 patients studied had abundant DLL3-positive cancer cells in their blood, and these were the patients who responded to tarlatamab. The blood test correctly identified 85% of patients who benefited from the drug and 100% of those who did not. This translates to 85% sensitivity and 100% specificity.
This study, a collaboration between bioengineering experts and lung cancer clinicians, has significant implications for patient care.
"Our work may help predict which SCLC patients are likely to respond to tarlatamab and other DLL3-targeting antibodies currently in development," says Dr. Justin Gainor, another lead author. "It also has potential implications for other cancers that express DLL3."
The research team included: Avanish Mishra, Catherine B. Meadord, Kruthika Kikkeri, Quinn Cunneely, Maoxuan Lin, Tom LaSalle, Shih-Bo Huang, Remy Bell, Victor Putaturo, Weikun Xia, Joyce Liang, Jacy Fang, Sarah San Vicente, Caroline Zielinski, Subba R. Digumarthy, Yin P. Hung, Beow Y. Yeap, Jon Edd, Michael S. Lawrence, Moshe Sade-Feldman, Debattama Sen, Mehmet Toner, Shyamala Maheswaran, and Justin F. Gainor.
Controversy & Comment Hooks: What are your thoughts on the implications of this blood test? Do you think this will change the way lung cancer is treated? Share your opinions in the comments below!
