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. 2011 Aug;137(8):1203-11.
doi: 10.1007/s00432-011-0986-0. Epub 2011 May 28.

Molecular profiles of EGFR, K-ras, c-met, and FGFR in pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma, a rare lung malignancy

Soohyeon Lee  1 , Youngwook Kim, Jong-Mu Sun, Yoon La Choi, Jhin Gook Kim, Young-Mog Shim, Yeon Hee Park, Jin Seok Ahn, Keunchil Park, Jung Ho Han, Myung-Ju Ahn
Affiliations

Molecular profiles of EGFR, K-ras, c-met, and FGFR in pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma, a rare lung malignancy

Soohyeon Lee et al. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol. 2011 Aug.

Abstract

Background: Pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma (PPC) is a rare type of lung cancer characterized by the poor response to conventional chemotherapy and subsequent disappointing outcomes. Therefore, it is paramount to delineate the molecular characteristics of this disease entity.

Methods: In this study, we retrospectively examined the surgical specimens of 61 patients who underwent lung surgery. Mutational or gene amplification statuses of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), k-ras, c-kit, c-met, and fibroblast growth factor receptor (FGFR) were examined using genomic DNA sequencing, real-time PCR and/or fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH).

Results: The median age was 61 years, and 50 patients were men and 11 were women. In the histologic review of epithelial component, adenocarcinoma were in 44 cases (72%), squamous cell carcinoma in 15 (25%) and large cell carcinoma in 2 patients (3%). Overall, 30 cases (49%) had any molecular alterations. Nine patients (15%) possessed EGFR deletion in exon 19 (n = 8) or L858R mutations in exon 21 (n = 1), while 3 other cases having atypical EGFR mutations. Six patients (9.8%) had k-ras mutations in exon 12, and 3 had c-kit mutations. High gene copy number of c-met was found in 11 patients (18.0%) and that of FGFR was in 6 patients (9.8%). No significant relationships were identified among the occurrence and type of mutations and patient survival or any other clinicopathological variables.

Conclusions: Given the diverse repertoire of mutational profiles observed in PPC samples, clinical trials based on accurate cancer-genotyping should be considered as a legitimate treatment scheme for this rare disease entity in the future.

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Conflict of interest statement

None declared.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) assay for the detection of the FGFR a No amplification of the FGFR b Amplification of the FGFR
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
FISH assay for the detection of c-Met a No amplification of the c-Met b High polysomy of the c-met
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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