Highlighting the Importance of Advanced Diagnostics for GI Tumor Expression

Raed M. Al-Rajabi, MD, highlighted the importance of integrating advanced diagnostic assays for tumor-associated antigen expression within the pathology workflow, as well as how a pathology-oncology collaboration may facilitate the adoption of these therapies for patients with gastrointestinal (GI) cancers. He spoke with CancerNetwork® following a presentation he gave on immune effector cells in GI malignancies at the 2025 Immune Cell Effector Therapy (ICE-T) Congress.

Initially, he emphasized the importance of advanced diagnostics for personalized therapies, highlighting a trend towards greater specificity with therapies in the field of oncology. Furthermore, he touched upon the impact of a “strong collaboration” with pathologists to facilitate that success, as well as a need to develop systems to reflex test tissue so it can be readily accessed to reduce the time a patient would need to access a beneficial therapy for their cancer.

Additionally, highlighting a growing need for FDA approvals to require specific targets, Al-Rajabi identified difficulties that may emerge in the community in successfully implementing these systems. Al-Rajabi concluded by re-iterating the importance of advanced diagnostics for tumor expression, which he remarked could be critical in best informing treatment decisions for these patients.

Al-Rajabi is a professor of Medicine in the Division of Medical Oncology at the University of Kansas Medical Center and lead of the Gastrointestinal (GI) Medical Oncology Group.

Transcript:

A critical, important aspect of any patient care is the integration of these advanced diagnostics to personalized therapies, and I think we are going to get more specific on which patients require which therapies going forward. Having a strong collaboration with our pathology colleagues is crucial for that success. We must develop systems that reflex test the tissue, so it is available and ready in the fastest turnaround time, so these patients do not have to wait for life-saving or critical therapies for their cancer.

We see more of that becoming apparent with each FDA approval that requires a specific target. Instating those workflows is sometimes a little difficult; I know it's hard in academic institutions, but it's even harder in community oncology, where the majority of our patients are being treated. This has to be a critical aspect of any patient's cancer care: getting the tumor-associated antigens or mutations addressed as soon as tissue or liquid biopsies are acquired, so we could start the process of finding a good treatment.

Reference

Al-Rajabi RM. IEC in GI malignancies. Presented at the 2025 Immune Cell Effector Therapy (ICE-T) Congress; September 27-28, 2025. Kansas City, KS