Mutation and expression of multiple treatment response-related genes in a population with locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer

Individual therapy based on various pathohistological types and biological characteristics may be the practical trend of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) treatment. To provide a molecular criterion for drug selection, we investigated the incidence of somatic mutation and mRNA expression levels of common genes relevant to treatment response in a population with locally advanced NSCLC. Mutant-enriched and branched DNA-liquidchip technology (bDNA-LCT) were used to detect the somatic mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), KRAS, BRAF and phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase catalytic α (PIK3CA) genes, and mRNA levels of EGFR, ERCC1, class III β-tubulin (TUBB3) and TYMS, separately, in paraffin tissue blocks from 30 patients with stage IIIA NSCLC. Our current findings revealed that 6, 4 and 2 out of 30 samples were found with mutations in exons 19, 21 and 20 of the EGFR gene, respectively. The mutation incidence of exons 19 and 21 had a positive correlation with EGFR mRNA expression. Mutations in exons 12 and 13 of the K-ras gene were found in 2 out of 30, and 1 out of 30 samples, separately. Three out of 30 samples were found with mutations in codon 542 of the PIK3CA gene. No mutations were found in the BRAF gene. The expression levels of ERCC1 and TUBB3 mRNAs were higher in patients with adenocarcinoma than those in patients with squamous cell carcinoma. The expression of TYMS mRNA in patients with adenocarcinoma was lower than that in patients with squamous cell carcinoma. In conclusion, mutations and mRNA expression of these commonly studied genes provides a basis for the selection of suitable molecular markers for individual treatment in a population with locally advanced NSCLC.