POAS: interpreting the report
A structured, six-layer reading of an existing molecular report, separating what matters from what is uncertain.
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Precision oncology, simply explained
Understanding the cancer, not only its name.
Precision oncology uses information about a person’s cancer, including its genes and biomarkers, to help doctors understand it more deeply and consider the options that fit it best.
Two people can have cancer in the same organ, yet their cancers can behave very differently. Precision oncology asks why, and what that means for the next decision.
How precision oncology works, in four steps
Every cancer is different
Changes in genes and proteins shape how a cancer grows and how it may respond to treatment.
Testing reads the tumour
A molecular test on tissue or blood (often NGS) lists the changes found in the cancer.
Interpretation gives meaning
Experts decide which findings matter for this cancer, how strong the evidence is and what is still uncertain.
Your doctor decides, with you
A clear report and, where useful, a multidisciplinary review support the treating doctor and the patient in deciding together.
What precision oncology can and cannot do
It can
- Explain which changes are present in a cancer and which may matter.
- Show how strong the evidence is for each finding.
- Identify treatments or clinical trials that may be worth discussing.
- Flag inherited findings that could be relevant to relatives.
- Make uncertainty visible, so decisions are better informed.
It cannot
- Guarantee that a treatment will work.
- Replace the treating doctor’s judgement or the patient’s choice.
- Turn every finding into a treatment option: many changes are not actionable.
- Promise trial eligibility or access to a medicine.
- Give certainty about the future.
Key terms, in plain language
- Gene
- A section of DNA that carries instructions for making a protein. Cancer can develop when certain genes change.
- Alteration (mutation or variant)
- A change in a gene. Some alterations help a cancer grow; many have no known effect.
- Biomarker
- A measurable sign in tissue or blood, such as a gene alteration or a protein level, that can help describe a cancer.
- Molecular profiling
- Testing a tumour to list its molecular changes. Often done with next-generation sequencing (NGS).
- NGS (next-generation sequencing)
- A laboratory method that reads many genes at once from a tissue or blood sample.
- Somatic and germline
- Somatic changes are found only in the cancer. Germline changes are inherited, present in every cell and can matter to relatives.
- Liquid biopsy (ctDNA)
- A blood test that looks for small pieces of tumour DNA circulating in the blood.
- Targeted therapy
- A medicine designed to act on a specific molecular change. It is only relevant when the right change is present and the evidence supports it.
- Immunotherapy biomarkers
- Measurements such as TMB, MSI or MMR status and PD-L1 that are discussed when immunotherapy is considered. None of them guarantees benefit.
- Actionable
- A finding for which there is evidence that it may change a treatment discussion in a specific cancer and setting.
- Variant of uncertain significance
- A change whose effect is not yet known. It should be described as uncertain, not treated as a cause.
- Evidence level
- How strong the support for a finding is, from guidelines and approvals down to laboratory studies.
- Clinical trial
- A research study testing a treatment. A possible match on paper must still be confirmed by the trial team.
- Molecular Tumour Board (MTB)
- A meeting where specialists review a complex case together and document considerations for the treating doctor.
How KPCIRC helps
Molecular Tumour Board: expert discussion
Selected complex cases are reviewed by specialists together, with considerations documented for the treating doctor.
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Genetics & risk: the family question
When an inherited change may be involved, assessment and counselling come before any testing decision.
Learn moreQuestions you may want to ask your doctor
- Has my cancer been tested for molecular changes, and with which test?
- Which findings in my report are considered important, and why?
- How strong is the evidence for any treatment linked to these findings?
- Is anything in the report uncertain, or does it need confirming?
- Could any finding be inherited and matter to my family?
- Would a second opinion or a multidisciplinary review help in my situation?
Your doctor remains central
Precision oncology supports, and never replaces, the treating doctor. KPCIRC services help organise the evidence and questions; decisions are made by the patient and their doctor together.
Short explainers, in production
- POAS in 60 secondsAbout 60–75 seconds
- KPCIRC in 90 secondsAbout 90 seconds