Aberrations in the epidermal growth factor receptor gene in 958 patients with diverse advanced tumors: implications for therapy
Menée sur des échantillons tumoraux prélevés sur 958 patients atteints d'un cancer avancé et inclus dans des essais de phase I, cette étude analyse la fréquence des mutations du gène EGFR en fonction des diverses localisations tumorales
Background Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations are associated with the response to EGFR inhibitors in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). We sought to investigate EGFR aberrations in patients with diverse advanced cancers. Patients and methods Patients referred to the phase I clinic were evaluated for the presence of EGFR mutations and response to therapy. Results EGFR aberrations were detected in 34 of 958 patients (3.5%). Though EGFR mutations were most frequent in NSCLC (21 of 131, 16%), they were also present in a variety of other solid tumors (13 of 827 patients, 1.6%) including adrenocortical (1/10 patients), skin (1/24), breast (1/55), carcinoid (1/8), cholangiocarcinoma (1/20), head and neck (1/61), ovarian (1/84), parathyroid (1/1), salivary gland (1/20), renal (1/17), sarcoma (2/38), and thymic carcinomas (1/7). Of the 13 EGFR aberration-positive non-NSCLC patients (median number of prior systemic therapies = 3), 6 had treatment with an EGFR inhibitor. Two patients (diagnosis = parathyroid tumor and basal cell carcinoma) achieved stable disease (SD), lasting 6 and 7 months, respectively. Conclusion We found EGFR aberrations in 1.6% of a large group of patients with diverse tumors other than NSCLC, and treatment with an EGFR inhibitor could be associated with prolonged SD.