
<b>Some of this is discussed in more detail in &&url.</b>

<b>a. Gleevec</b>
If your primary tumor was abdominal, a test on the tumor wax block for the marker cKit may make you eligible for treatment with Gleevec. If you are inoperable at any stage, Gleevec is an effective oral chemostatic agent used for control of GIST [GastroIntestinal Stromal Tumors], previously considered the same as gastrointestinal LMS, now acknowledged as a separate type of tumor from GI LMS.
   <b>If your primary tumor tests positive for PDGFR, it also can make you eligible for treatment with Gleevec. </b>


<b>b. Markers for specific clinical trials</b>
<b>EGFR</b>
If your tumor is positive for EGFR, then some new anti-angiogenesis agents [eg Iressa] currently in clinical trial might help control it. There are other angiogenesis target markers as well, like VEGF. See &&url.
<b>bcl-2</b>
Genasense, a bcl inhibitor, is in phase 1 clinical trial currently.
<b>MTAP</b>
Alanosine is in phase 1 clinical trial currently,  it requires MTAP deficient tumors.
<b>COX-2</b>
If you are thinking of using Celebrex or Vioxx to prevent tumor growth, it would be worthwhile to see if the tumor expresses COX-2.

<b>As more clinical trials evolve, there will be other protein markers that will help decide which tumors are more likely to respond to treatment.  It is worthwhile keeping an eye on the clinical trials and discussing them with your sarcoma oncologist. </b>


<b>c. Genetic fingerprinting/tumor profiling [also called DNA or RNA tumor microarray]</b> 
is now being done on tumors. If you are having a tumor resected, have some of it flash frozen and stored in liquid nitrogen. This preservation can be useful for doing future DNA or other microarray on your tumor, or possibly for making a vaccine from the tumor.  
   There is some indication that some genetic profiling for chemotherapy agent resistance could be done on the paraffin samples, as well.

<b>d. Chemosensitivity testing</b> 
is possible on tumors.  This test requires fresh tumor tissue, which is grown in culture. Chemotherapy agents are then tried against the tumor cells.  If you are having a tumor removed, it might be useful to have some sent expeditiously to the special laboratories that do this testing. 
See &&url

