From uniplex to multiplex molecular profiling in advanced non-small cell lung carcinoma

Non-small cell lung carcinoma is a leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Understanding the molecular biology of survival and proliferation of cancer cells led to a new molecular classification of lung cancer and the development of targeted therapies with promising results. With the advances of image-guided biopsy techniques, tumor samples are becoming smaller, and the molecular testing techniques have to overcome the challenge of integrating the characterization of a panel of abnormalities including gene mutations, copy-number changes, and fusions in a reduced number of assays using only a small amount of genetic material. This article reviews the current knowledge about the most frequent actionable molecular abnormalities in non-small cell lung carcinoma, the new approaches of molecular analysis, and the implications of these findings in the context of clinical practice.