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Vol.49 No.6 contents | Japanese/English |
 | Full Text of PDF (408K) Article in Japanese |
- The 23rd Lung Cancer Workshop -
Biomarkers of Sensitivity for the Treatment of Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors in Lung Cancer
Kenji Sugio1,21Second Department of Surgery, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan, 2Department of Thoracic Oncology, National Kyushu Cancer Center, Japan
Somatic mutations of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene in lung adenocarcinoma were significantly associated with response to EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) such as gefitinib and erlotinib. Various kinds of biomarker which show sensitivity or resistance to EGFR-TKI have also been reported. Increased copy numbers of the EGFR gene predicts sensitivity of TKI, in addition to EGFR mutations. Tumors with K-ras mutation rarely show response to EGFR-TKI, which indicates mutation as a resistance marker. Amplification of the MET gene is another mechanism of acquired resistance to EGFR-TKI. Establishment of the biomarker for EGFR-TKI is important to select patients with good response to EGFR-TKI. In addition, the monitoring of acquired resistance mutation in the tumor during EGFR-TKI treatment provides useful genetic information in developing molecular targeting agents.
key words: Lung cancer, Biomarker, Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), K-ras, MET
JJLC 49 (6): 934-938, 2009
