Published in:
01-04-2016 | Short Communication
Targeted Therapy Management in NSCLC Patients Using Cytology: Experience from a Tertiary Care Cancer Center
Published in: Molecular Diagnosis & Therapy | Issue 2/2016
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Background
Although biopsy is the gold standard for diagnosis, cytological material has often been used to assist in making a pathologic diagnosis as well as for molecular testing in certain cancers such as in the lung, cervix, and head/neck.
Objective
Our objective is to share experience from our institution in the use of cytological material in screening for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations in a subset of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
Methods
Fine needle aspirates, pleural effusion, cell blocks of 223 NSCLC patients, where cytology suggested malignancy were screened for EGFR mutation in exons 18–21 using Scorpion® ARMS real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology.
Results
Overall, EGFR mutation was seen in 43.5 % of study samples. Deletions were highest in exon 19 (27.2 %), followed by exon 21 (15.5 %), exon 18 (5.3 %), and exon 20 (1.9 %). Chi-squared analysis revealed a significant correlation for mutation status in women compared with men (χ
2 = 5.88, p = 0.02), with exon 19 mutation predominating (χ
2 = 5.66, p = 0.02).
Conclusion
Our results demonstrate the successful use of cytology material for molecular testing in a subset of NSCLC patients to direct their treatment.