The Importance of Screening for EGFR Mutation in Lung Cancer

Abstract

Lung cancer is one of the cancers with the most cases occurring in both men and women. It was found that a number of patients with lung cancer had mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). The EGFR mutation is a somatic mutation associated with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which can be identified using real-time PCR or Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) in a sample obtained from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue. The presence of EGFR mutation in lung cancer tissue has revealed an opportunity to treat this disease with anti-EGFR therapy. First-generation EGFR inhibitors work by reversibly inhibiting the EGFR tyrosine kinase. However, it does not work with the T790M mutation which needs a third-generation EGFR inhibitor that can irreversibly inhibit both active and inactive variants of EGFR. Screening of EGFR mutation in NSCLC has been mandatory to reveal an opportunity for treating with EGFR inhibitor.