104 consecutively resected lung adenocarcinomas from 396 non-smoker females (less than 100 cigarettes in a lifetime) at a single institution (Tongji University, Shanghai, China) were analyzed for mutations in EGFR, EML4-ALK, KRAS, HER2, BRAF, and PIK3CA.
EML4-ALK fusion gene, is found in 3 to 5 % of lung adenocarcinoma and can be targeted by tyrosine-kinase inhibitor (TKI) with impressive therapeutic results.
Echinoderm microtubule-associated protein-like 4 (EML4)-ALK fusions represent the majority of ALK rearrangements in lung adenocarcinomas and were, until recently, thought to be exclusive to that tumour type.
A total of 253 patients with advanced lung adenocarcinoma received a pemetrexed-based regimen and were classified on the basis of molecular findings as follows: 102 patients (40.3%) with EGFR mutations, 32 patients (12.6%) with EML4-ALK translocation, three patients (1.2%) with KRAS mutations, 19 patients (7.5%) with ROS1 fusion, and 97 patients (38.3%) with quadruple-negative status.
Although the frequency of EML4-ALK rearrangements is lower in lung SqCC than that in lung adenocarcinomas, their presence may provide additional treatment options in lung SqCC.
Among the 440 patients with adenocarcinoma of lung screened for this study, 46 (10.4%) harboured the EML4-ALK fusion, 90 (20.4%) harboured an activating EGFR mutation, and all had adenocarcinoma.
BRAF mutations were analysed by DNA sequencing of a Caucasian subpopulation of selected 450 of 1509 (30%) EGFR, KRAS, PI3KA, Her2 and EML4-ALK wild-type (wt) primary lung adenocarcinomas.
Heat shock protein 90 (HSP90) is an important chaperone in lung adenocarcinoma, with relevant protein drivers such as EGFR (epidermal growth factor receptor) and EML4-ALK (echinoderm microtubule-associated protein-like protein4 fused to anaplastic lymphoma kinase) depending on it for their correct function, therefore HSP90 inhibitors show promise as potential treatments for lung adenocarcinoma.
In addition, the association between MAGE-A expression and the epithelial growth factor receptor (EGFR) amplification and ALK-EML4 rearrangements of patients with LAC were also analysed.
In this series, 230 resected lung adenocarcinomas from smoker (>100 cigarettes in lifetime) at single center (Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai, China) were tested for mutation in EGFR, KRAS, BRAF, HER2, EML4-ALK and PIK3CA.
In this study, we found that the lung adenocarcinoma cell line A925L expresses an EML4-ALK gene fusion (variant 5a, E2:A20) and is sensitive to the ALK inhibitors crizotinib and alectinib.