Genomic Testing Helped Match Stage 4 Lung Cancer Patient to Rybrevant

Heather Quintana Suchan, a mother living with stage 4 lung cancer, said early biomarker testing and genomic profiling helped match her to Rybrevant (amivantamab-vmjw) after testing identified a specific mutation. She said the targeted treatment is working well with minimal side effects and is urging other patients to pursue testing early in the diagnostic process because treatment decisions should be personalized, not one size fits all.

Suchan said that even within her exon 20 mutation, there are variations, making genetic testing essential to identify the right therapy. After testing at City of Hope, she began targeted treatment with Rybrevant, which she said is working for her with pretty minimal side effects. She said that on her first day there, going through her genetic report led to a recommendation that was specific to her.

A lifelong nonsmoker, Suchan said she once believed lung cancer was largely lifestyle-based. She said her only symptom was a persistent cough she brushed off as a cold until testing revealed advanced disease, and that when she learned she had not only lung cancer but stage 4 lung cancer, she was surprised because she was not that sick.

She said she was told Rybrevant had just recently been FDA approved about five weeks before she arrived for treatment and that it was a targeted therapy that would find her cancer wherever it had spread. She said the treatment discussion shifted her outlook from feeling hopeless to hearing that her care could move forward with medication.

Suchan said she continues working and staying active during treatment and wants people to know they can still live a very full life. She is encouraging patients to ask questions, understand their reports, not ignore subtle symptoms and seek personalized testing so treatment decisions fit their lives.