BACKGROUND: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene (KRAS) and phosphatidylinositide-3-kinase catalytic subunit-alpha (PIK3CA) mutations are biomarkers used for the prediction of efficacy of EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). PATIENTS AND METHODS: In total, 223 patients with advanced-stage squamous cell NSCLC were tested; 179 patients were treated with EGFR-TKIs. Genetic testing was performed using a combination of denaturing capillary electrophoresis and direct Sanger sequencing. RESULTS: EGFR mutations were detected in 7.2%; KRAS mutations in 7.4% and PIK3CA mutations in 3.8% of patients. No correlation of EGFR or PIK3CA mutation status with progression-free survival (PFS) (p=0.425; p=0.197), nor overall survival (OS) (p=0.673; p=0.687), was observed. KRAS mutations correlated with shorter OS (p=0.039), but not with PFS (p=0.120). CONCLUSION: We did not observe any role of EGFR, KRAS, PIK3CA mutations in prediction of EGFR-TKIs efficacy in patients with advanced-stage squamous cell NSCLC.

Department of Oncology and Radiotherapy Medical School and Teaching Hospital Pilsen Charles University Prague Czech Republic

Monitoring of Early Changes of Circulating Tumor DNA in the Plasma of Rectal Cancer Patients Receiving Neoadjuvant Concomitant Chemoradiotherapy: Evaluation for Prognosis and Prediction of Therapeutic Response