Your Trusted Guide To Cancer Biomarker Testing

Meet Mark: Your trusted guide to biomarkers

Video: What to know about biomarkers

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PARTNER #1: You okay? What did the doctor say?

PARTNER #2: He confirmed we caught my prostate cancer early, so that's good news.

PARTNER #1: Okay, so what's the plan?

PARTNER #2: I'm still processing. He talked about treatment options, but it was a lot to take in. I didn't even know what to ask.

MARK: Time out! Cool, it still works! Hi, I’m Mark-Paul Gosselaar, but today, call me Mark. I’m partnering with AstraZeneca to help you understand what biomarkers are, and how they may help guide someone facing a cancer diagnosis.

MARK: Hi! I'm Mark.

PARTNER #2: Hi Mark?

PARTNER #1: And you came from where?

MARK: Being overwhelmed by a cancer diagnosis is completely natural. But there's one important thing you should talk to your doctor about when you're diagnosed: biomarker testing.

MARK: You might wanna write this down.

PARTNER #1: Uh, what are biomarkers?

MARK: Think of them as clues to your health, like genes or proteins that may help your doctor better understand your specific cancer and figure out an appropriate treatment plan for you.

PARTNER #1: Are you a doctor?

MARK: No, but maybe I should play one on TV.

PARTNER #2: Where do I know that guy from?

GEN Z WOMAN: Aunt Emily has breast cancer? Like Grandma did?

MARK: Time out! I'm needed here.

GEN Z WOMAN: Sorry, I'm not ready to order yet, do you mind coming back?

MARK: I couldn't help but overhear about your Aunt Emily.

GEN Z WOMAN: Do you know her? Wait, do I know you?

MARK: I don't and...maybe?

MARK: No, you don't know me, but I do know a biomarker test may help her and her doctor determine the next step in her cancer treatment.

WAITRESS: Sir, please put that down.

GEN Z WOMAN: Do you work here?

MARK: I do not. I am famous though. So, back to Aunt Emily and Grandma. Even if two people have the same type of cancer, their tumors can act completely differently. Biomarker testing may help doctors better understand how to treat each individual’s cancer type.

GEN Z WOMAN: Got it.

MARK: Remember: Aunt Emily. Biomarker testing. Mark said to ask her doctor.

GEN Z WOMAN: You can see him too, right?

WAITRESS (off camera): Yea.

FRIEND #2: I can't believe you have lung cancer.

FRIEND #1: My doctor told me that if you have lungs, you can get lung cancer.

FRIEND #2: Can it be treated? What is the doctor recommending you do next?

FRIEND #1: Yeah, it can be. My doctor ordered a biomarker test first, so he can better understand how aggressive my cancer might be, what's going on with the tumor, and what treatment could work well for me.

MARK: Time out! That's rough, but a biomarker test is an appropriate next step.

MARK: I'm glad your doctor recommended biomarker testing. It may help them match you with a personalized treatment plan that may be most likely to work for you.

MARK: If you or a loved one receives a cancer diagnosis or is currently living with cancer, ask about biomarker testing. It could change the course of your treatment journey and may ultimately save your life.

MARK: Go to MeetYourMark.com to learn more.

Cancer Biomarker Testing Supporting Informed And Personalized Treatment Decisions

A cancer diagnosis can feel overwhelming.

But taking the time for cancer biomarker testing may give important information about a person's unique tumor, helping guide more informed and personalized treatment decisions.

What is cancer biomarker testing?

Biomarkers are health clues or signs in the body—like genes, proteins, or other substances—that doctors can measure through blood or tissue tests to help understand what's happening with your health.

Biomarkers can be used to help guide treatment in numerous diseases but are especially powerful tools in many types of cancer. Medical professionals’ recommendations for biomarker testing vary depending on a person’s cancer type and stage.

Biomarker tests for cancer are different than genetic tests, which look at the genes people were born with to find alterations in their DNA (their inherited risk for cancer). For people with a personal or family history of certain cancers, they may be referred to genetic counseling to determine eligibility for genetic testing.

For people living with cancer, biomarker testing can look at the cancer itself and tell us more about:

The specific type of cancer present

How aggressive it might be

Whether a treatment is working

If targeted therapies or immunotherapy may help

Even if two people have the same type of cancer, their tumors can behave very differently. Biomarker testing helps reveal these differences, guiding doctors and people living with cancer to choose the next step in a treatment plan.

What types of cancer biomarkers are commonly tested for?

Biomarker testing can be done for many types of cancer, including lung cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, prostate cancer, and others.

Cancer Type	Example Biomarker Types
Lung Cancer	ALK BRAF EGFR ERBB2 (HER2) KRAS MET NRG1 NTRK1/2/3 PD-L1 RET ROS1
Breast Cancer	AKT1 BRCA1/BRCA2 ER/PR ESR1 HER2 PD-L1 PIK3CA PTEN
Ovarian Cancer	BRCA1/BRCA2 FRα-positive (folate receptor alpha) HER2 Homologous Recombination Deficiency (HRD) MMR/MSI
Prostate Cancer	AR ATM BRCA1/BRCA2 CDK12 CHEK2 FANCA MMR/MSI PALB2 PSA PSMA PTEN RAD51D TMPRSS2-ERG

ALK, anaplastic lymphoma kinase; AR, Androgen Receptor; ATM, ataxia-telangiectasia mutated; BRAF, v-Raf murine sarcoma viral oncogene homolog B; BRCA1/2, BReast CAncer susceptibility gene 1/2; CDK12, cyclin-dependent kinase 12; CHEK2, checkpoint kinase 2; EGFR, epidermal growth factor receptor; ER, estrogen receptor; ERBB2, erb-b2 receptor tyrosine kinase 2; ESR1, estrogen receptor 1; FANCL, fanconi anemia, complementation group L; HER2, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2; KRAS, v-Ki-ras2 Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog; MET, mesenchymal-epithelial transition; MMR, mismatch repair; MSI, microsatellite instability; NTRK, neurotrophic tyrosine receptor kinase; NRG1, neuregulin 1 gene; PALB2, partner and localizer of BRCA2; PCA3, Prostate Cancer Antigen 3; PD-L1, programmed death-ligand 1; PIK3CA, phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase catalytic subunit alpha; PR, progesterone receptor; PSA, prostate-specific antigen; PSMA, prostate-specific membrane antigen; PTEN, phosphatase and tensin homolog; RAD51D, RAD51 paralog D; RET, rearranged during transfection; ROS1, ROS proto-oncogene 1; TMPRSS2-ERG, Transmembrane Protease, Serine 2 – ETS-Related Gene.