Called to Care Living Mission Every day - Karen - Flipbook - Page 33
LAB TALK
Small Test. Big Difference.
How a new laboratory test could help doctors tailor cancer
treatment to individual patients. MMUH Medical Scientist
Colman Clarke explains
M
odern healthcare increasingly relies on
collaboration between different specialties,
with laboratory medicine playing a vital role
in helping clinicians make informed decisions about
patient care. A recent example of this within our hospital
has been the introduction of Claudin 18.2
immunohistochemistry testing.
Claudin 18.2 is a tight junction protein normally found in
gastric mucosa and can be expressed in gastric and gastrooesophageal cancers. Testing for Claudin 18.2 expression
can help identify patients who may be eligible for
treatment with the targeted therapy Zolbetuximab.
Establishing the service required considerable work
behind the scenes.
From reviewing the emerging evidence and defining
testing criteria to assay validation, quality assurance, staff
training and integration into routine laboratory
workflows, a true multidisciplinary effort. Close
collaboration with our clinical colleagues has been central
to ensuring that testing is delivered accurately, efficiently
and crucially, at the point where it can inform patient
management.
For the laboratory, this represented an exciting
opportunity to translate scientific developments into a
service with a direct clinical application. For our clinical
colleagues, it provides additional information to support
therapeutic decision-making. Most importantly, for our
patients, it creates greater opportunity for treatment to be
tailored to the molecular characteristics of their individual
cancer.
One of the most rewarding aspects of introducing this
service has been seeing the connection between laboratory
science and patient care. Through collaboration with our
surgical and oncology colleagues, Claudin 18.2 testing has
allowed us to bring a new diagnostic capability into the
hospital.
Claudin 18.2 is more than a new test in our laboratory. It
represents another step towards a comprehensive
precision oncology service for the MMUH, with the
laboratory playing an increasingly central role in
connecting advanced diagnostics with personalised cancer
treatment.
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