EGFR Mutations in Lung Cancer: Correlation with Clinical Response to Gefitinib Therapy

Abstract

Receptor tyrosine kinase genes were sequenced in non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and matched normal tissue. Somatic mutations of the epidermal growth factor receptor gene EGFR were found in 15of 58 unselected tumors from Japan and 1 of 61 from the United States. Treatment with the EGFR kinase inhibitor gefitinib (Iressa) causes tumor regression in some patients with NSCLC, more frequently in Japan. EGFR mutations were found in additional lung cancer samples from U.S. patients who responded to gefitinib therapy and in a lung adenocarcinoma cell line that was hypersensitive to growth inhibition by gefitinib, but not in gefitinib-insensitive tumors or cell lines. These results suggest that EGFR mutations may predict sensitivity to gefitinib.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Jun 04, 2004
Source ID
10.1126/science.1099314

Entities

People

  • Bruce E. Johnson
  • Frederic J. Kaye
  • Heidi Greulich
  • Hidefumi Sasaki
  • J. Guillermo Paez
  • Jeffrey C. Lee
  • Katsuhiko Naoki
  • Matthew Meyerson
  • Michael J. Eck
  • Neal Lindeman
  • Pasi A. Jänne
  • Paula Herman
  • Sean Tracy
  • Stacey Gabriel
  • Titus J. Boggon
  • William R Sellers
  • Yoshitaka Fujii

Organizations

  • Dana–Farber Cancer Institute
  • Harvard Medical School
  • National Cancer Institute

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Biology
  • Medicine

Readers

  • Cellular and Molecular Pathways of Apoptosis.
  • Molecular and genetic basis of cancer.
  • Oncology