Hi @merille
It is my understanding that molecular testing is only recently being used for determination of the mutations. The researchers are finding new and unusual mutations daily it seems.
My wife was stage 3a when she was diagnosed. She had a VATS bilobectomy at Mayo-Rochester in May, 2015 at which time the Mayo doctor ordered the standard mutation testing for lung cancer patients. He felt confident that he had removed all of the Cancer, and the tests came back negative.
A year later her cancer had metastasized into her left lung and they restaged her to stage 4 non-operable.
Fall of 2016, after she had not responded to nine rounds of Opdivo infusions the Mayo oncologist ordered a molecular study, from another biopsy. He explained that the biopsy taken at the time of her bilobectomy was not sufficient size to do a thorough test.
Six weeks later the study revealed two mutations, one of which is primary and treatable. The mutation was a HERR2 mutation, common in breast cancer, but not so common in lung cancer.
She is now being treated and is responding to a "cocktail" infusion of herceptin/perjetta...and the tumors are shrinking!
Thanks to the advancements in lung cancer research many more of what were formerly hopeless cases will soon be treatable. Some day I predict that there will be an annual cancer innoculation that we will be able to get-just like we do for the flu today!