ALK, ROS1 and EGFR status of lung cancers in the Aegean Region of Turkey

ABSTRACT

Background/Aims: As targeted therapies are promising in the treatment of lung cancer (LC), it is important to identify the genetic variations in tumors. The present research aimed to determine the regional prevalence of alterations in ALK, ROS1, and EGFR genes. Materials and Methods: ALK rearrangement in 1152, ROS1 rearrangement in 390, and EGFR mutations in 1054 cases with LC were evaluated. Results: Alteration rates of ALK, ROS1, and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) genes were 3.5%, 0.4%, and 11.2% in the samples, respectively. ALK rearrangements were mainly detected in young patients (P < 0.01) and in females (P < 0.01). Females were also more often inflicted by EGFR variations, especially from the exon 19 deletion. Exon 21 L858R mutations were more frequently found in men. However, any statistical significance between EGFR alterations and gender or age was not discovered. Conclusion: In this study, molecular changes were less frequent than expected. We thought that this low rate confirmed the aphorism of “smokes like a Turk, ” which could be because almost all patients were active or passive smokers.