Favorable Conditions for the Detection of EGFR T790M Mutation Using Plasma Sample in Patients with Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer

• Published in: Cancers Vol. 15; no. 5; p. 1445
• Main Authors: Kim, Insu, Seol, Hee Yun, Kim, Soo Han, Kim, Mi-Hyun, Lee, Min Ki, Eom, Jung Seop
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 24.02.2023; MDPI
• Subjects: Analysis; Biopsy; Development and progression; Diagnosis; Epidermal growth factor; Epidermal growth factor receptors; Gene mutations; Glomerular filtration rate; Health aspects; Lung cancer; Lung cancer, Non-small cell; Metastases; Metastasis; Multivariate analysis; Mutation; Non-small cell lung carcinoma; Plasma; Protein-tyrosine kinase; Regression analysis; Tissues; Tumors; Ultrasonic imaging; Variables; South Korea; United States > US; diagnostic molecular pathology; lung cancer; tyrosine kinase inhibitor; epidermal growth factor receptor; liquid biopsy
• ISSN: 2072-6694; 2072-6694
• DOI: 10.3390/cancers15051445

Detection of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) T790M mutation using plasma samples has been considered simple and non-invasive, but the relatively high false negative results lead to additional tissue sampling in some patients. Until now, the characteristics of patients who prefer liquid biopsy have not yet been established. To evaluate the favorable conditions for the detection of T790M mutations using plasma samples, a multicenter retrospective study was performed between May 2018 and December 2021. Patients whose T790M mutation was detected in a plasma sample were classified as the plasma positive group. Study subjects with a T790M mutation not detected in a plasma sample but only in a tissue sample were grouped as the plasma false negative group. Plasma positive and plasma false negative groups were found in 74 and 32 patients, respectively. As a result, 40% of patients with one or two metastatic organs at the time of re-biopsy had false negative plasma sample results, and 69% of patients with three or more metastatic organs at the time of re-biopsy had positive plasma results. In multivariate analysis, three or more metastatic organs at initial diagnosis were independently associated with the detection of a T790M mutation using plasma samples. Our results demonstrated that the detection rate of a T790M mutation using plasma samples was related to the tumor burden, particularly to the number of metastatic organs.