Frequency and Type of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Mutations in African Americans with Non-small Cell Lung Cancer

Abstract

Background Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations in non-small cell lung cancer predict response to tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Mutations occur more commonly in never-smokers and East Asians but there are conflicting reports on the frequency of EGFR mutations in tumors from African Americans. Methods Tumors from 67 African American and 77 Caucasian participants in previous case-control studies of lung cancer were selected to determine EGFR mutational status. Mutation analysis was performed using the Sequenom mass array analyzer (Sequenom, San Diego, CA). Results Overall, 13.9% of the study population carried an EGFR mutation. EGFR mutations occurred in 11.9% of tumors from African Americans compared with 15.6% in Caucasians (p=0.53). All mutations found in African Americans were deletions in exon 19. The majority of mutations were found in non-smokers among both African Americans (7/8) and Caucasians (8/12). Conclusion These results indicate that African Americans with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harbor somatic EGFR mutations at a frequency similar to Caucasians with NSCLC. Thus, clinicians should not use race as a clinical decision parameter for the use of EGFR-TKIs.

Relationship between Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Gene Mutations and Clinicopathological Features in Patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer in Western Turkey

“…Most typically, in Asian studies, higher incidence of EGFR mutation in female gender has been demonstrated . Studies in the Western world have provided results similar to those reported in Asian investigations, and female gender was detected as one of the most important predictors of EGFR (Arrieta et al, 2011;Cote et al, 2011;Leary et al, 2012). Also in our study higher rates of EGFR mutation were found in the female gender in parallel with the literature data.…”

“…For example, incidence of EGFR mutations was 19% in Argentina, and 67% in Peru (Arrieta et al, 2011). An investigation among African-Americans found a lower incidence (11%) of EGFR mutation (Cote et al, 2011). Similarly, a study conducted in the UK, its incidence was revealed as 11% (Leary et al, 2012).…”

Ethnicity affects EGFR and KRAS gene alterations of lung adenocarcinoma

“…A total of 4 African-Americans were included in the non-Asian group, as African-Americans have been reported to show similar frequencies of mEGFR and mKRAS to Caucasians (26)(27)(28), and it was confirmed that none of the 4 African-Americans harbored mEGFR and that 2 harbored mKRAS. The mutations and CNGs in 12 Asian patients with lung adenocarcinomas whose DNA samples were obtained from Western countries were also determined.…”

EGFRMutations in US Hispanic Versus Non-Hispanic White Patients With Lung Adenocarcinoma

“…COMMENT The frequency of the EGFR mutations in different populations is well documented. [16][17][18][19] For example, the mutation rate is higher in Asians and female nonsmokers. 20 However, the EGFR mutation rate in lung adenocarcinomas among the US Hispanic population has not been previously investigated to our knowledge.…”

“…The frequency of EGFR mutations is approximately 30% in Asian populations, 15% in whites, and 19% in African Americans. 16,17 However, data on the frequency of EGFR mutations in lung adenocarcinoma among Hispanics in the United States is not currently available, to our knowledge. Of note, the frequency of EGFR mutations in non-small cell carcinoma of the lung has been reported to be 33.2% in Latin American countries overall, which is similar to the Asian population.…”