A Rapid, Sensitive Assay to Detect EGFR Mutation in Small Biopsy Specimens from Lung Cancer

It has been demonstrated that lung cancers, specifically a subset of pulmonary adenocarcinomas, with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation are highly sensitive to EGFR-targeted drugs. Therefore, a rapid, sensitive assay for mutation detection using routine pathological specimens is demanded in clinical practice to predict the response. We therefore developed a new assay for detecting EGFR mutation using only a paraffin section of a small biopsy specimen. The method was very sensitive, detecting as few as 5% cancer cells in a background of normal cells, the results usually being obtained within 4 hours. Furthermore, it was accurate, as shown by the high concordance with reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction-coupled direct sequencing (186 of 195, 95%). The practical application of this assay to 29 cases treated with gefitinib resulted in a high prediction rate: 10 of the 11 responders were shown to be positive for the mutation, and all patients with progressive disease were negative. In addition, a mutation at codon 790, conferring gefitinib resistance, was successfully analyzed in a similar manner. In conclusion, the assay is a rapid, sensitive method using paraffin sections of biopsy specimens without a tumor cell-enrichment procedure and is quite useful to select a treatment of choice in clinical practice.