Comparative study of EGFR mutations detected in malignant pleural effusion, plasma and tumor tissue in patients with adenocarcinoma of the lung

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide [1]. Epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) treatment has significantly improved the prognosis of patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma with EGFR gene mutations. Lung cancer tissue obtained by surgery or biopsy is commonly used for categorizing tumors for clinical decisions[2 –4], however, because in patients considered for EGFR-TKI therapy present in advanced stages, diagnostic materials are often limited to small biopsies, which may contain insufficient tumor cells for molecular analysis [5], approaches to detect molecular markers from samples other than surgical tis sue must be explored to select more patients who are likely to respond to TKI treatment [6,7].
Source: Lung Cancer - Category: Cancer & Oncology Authors: Source Type: research