Lack of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-activating mutations in triple-negative breast cancer in China

Excerpt

We read with interest the study by Teng and colleagues reporting a high frequency (11.4 %) of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-activating mutations in triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) in a Singapore cohort [1]. In a separate study, EGFR-activating mutations were detected in 7.7 % (1 out of 13) of Chinese basal-like breast cancers [2]. Interestingly, this frequency ranged from 0 to 3 % of other Asian and Caucasian patients [3, 4]. These results indicate that the frequency of these mutations may vary according to geographic and ethnic differences, as reported in non-small cell lung cancer, and these mutations appear to be limited mostly to Chinese patients with TNBC. In this study, in-depth characterization of these mutations in Chinese TNBC was attempted on retrospective archival tissues. …