Dr. Belani Discusses Driver Mutations in NSCLC

Chandra P. Belani, MD, Deputy Director, Penn State Hershey Cancer Institute, Miriam Beckner Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Penn State Hershey Medical Center & College of Medicine, discusses the multicenter Lung Cancer Mutation Consortium (LCMC) study that sought to detect driver mutations in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

The detection of various driver mutations could help compartmentalize overall NSCLC. Determining the exact mutation responsible for tumor growth could help identify the patients that are eligible to receive specific targeted agents.

The LCMC study found that approximately 54% of patients with NSCLC have some form of a mutation. The major abnormalities include mutations in KRAS, EGFR, c-Met, PI3K, and the EML4-ALK rearrangement. Most of these alterations appear to be mutually exclusive; very few tumors have dual or triple abnormalities.

According to Belani this research only scratches the surface of the NSCLC biology. Subsequent discoveries will show that NSCLC is heterogeneous; further aberrations will be discovered as more research is completed.