Techniques: Plasma detection of receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) ectodomains to predict response to kinase inhibitors

Plasma levels of soluble RTK extracellular domains could help predict response to inhibitors of MEK, BRAF and other kinases. In 11 melanoma patients treated with the MEK inhibitor Mekinist trametinib plus the BRAF inhibitor Tafinlar dabrafenib, decreases in serum levels of extracellular domains from six RTKs - including AXL receptor tyrosine kinase (AXL; UFO) and c-Met receptor tyrosine kinase (c-MET; MET; HGFR; c-Met proto-oncogene) - compared with pretreatment baselines in the same patients were associated with poor progression-free survival. Next steps include validating the findings in larger retrospective studies...