Indoor Radon In Egfr And Braf-Mutated And Alk-Rearranged Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients

Abstract Background Radon gas is the leading cause of lung cancer in the nonsmoking population. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends indoor concentrations of  Patients and Methods We assessed the radon concentration from EGFR -, BRAF -mutated (m), and ALK -rearranged (r) NSCLC patients measured by an alpha-track detector placed in their homes between September 2014 and August 2015. Clinical characteristics were collected prospectively, and pathologic samples were reviewed retrospectively. Results Forty-eight patients were included (36 EGFRm , 10 ALKr , 2 BRAFm ). Median radon concentration was 104 Bq/m³ (IQR 69-160) overall, and was 96 Bq/m³ (42-915) for EGFRm , 116 (64-852) for ALKr , and 125 for BRAFm , with no significant differences. Twenty-seven patients (56%) had indoor radon above WHO recommendations, 8 (80%) of 10 ALKr , 2 (100%) of 2 BRAFm , and 17 (47%) of 36 EGFRm . Conclusion The median indoor radon concentration was above the WHO recommendations, with no differences between EGFR , ALK , and BRAF patients. Concentrations above the WHO recommendations were most common with ALKr and BRAFm . These findings should be validated in larger studies.