Merck Serono highlights increasing importance of KRAS testing

Merck Serono has published new research which underlines the increasing importance of KRAS testing in the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC).

According to a global survey conducted by the company, 66 per cent of patients with mCRC are now tested for the biomarker in order to determine their potential responsiveness to personalised therapy.

It represents an increase of 50 per cent in a year and has led to Merck Serono’s personalised therapy Erbitux becoming the standard of care among patients with confirmed wild-type tumours.

Dr Wolfgang Wein, executive vice-president of oncology at Merck Serono, said the use of treatments such as Erbitux provides better outcomes due to therapy being tailored to specific diseases.

He added: “These are very positive findings which demonstrate that in only two years the management of mCRC has been revolutionised, greatly to the benefit of patients.”

Earlier this week, Merck Serono published data from a new survey on fertility, revealing that many patients are unaware of the issues surrounding infertility and its treatment methods.