Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2007 May;2(5):387-96.
doi: 10.1097/01.JTO.0000268671.49378.c2.

An alternative approach to determining therapeutic choices in advanced non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC): maximizing the diagnostic procedure and the use of low-volume lung biopsies

Elaine H Lim  1 , Shen-Li Zhang, Kun Yu, Min-En Nga, Dokeu A Ahmed, Thirugananam Agasthian, Poo-Sing Wong, Gim-Chuah Chua, Daniel Wong, Lenny Tan, Kar-Yin Seto, Wee-See Yap, Seow-Ping Low, Kay-Leong Khoo, Alex Chang, Alan Ng, Patrick Tan
Affiliations
Free article

An alternative approach to determining therapeutic choices in advanced non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC): maximizing the diagnostic procedure and the use of low-volume lung biopsies

Elaine H Lim et al. J Thorac Oncol. 2007 May.
Free article

Abstract

Background: Accurate mutational analysis, especially epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations, of diagnostic biopsies from all Asian NSCLC patients is crucial to their clinical management, but faces problems. Here, we explore, within usual hospital constraints, the practicalities of incorporating mutational analysis in every newly diagnosed case of NSCLC, namely, maximizing tissue acquisition during the diagnostic procedure and determining the maximum quantity and quality of DNA sequence data available from these biopsies.

Methods: Sixty-eight Chinese patients were enrolled. Thirty-five underwent surgical resections for early-stage tumors. Thirty-three underwent diagnostic procedures, i.e., needle aspirates under bronchoscopic or computed tomographic/fluoroscopic guidance, or forceps biopsies via bronchoscopy. Separate samples for research purposes were obtained from these 33 patients during the diagnostic procedure. All samples were analyzed for mutations in EGFR exons 18 to 21, p53 exons 4 to 9, and Kras exon 2.

Results: No deaths occurred in this study. Success rates in obtaining sequence data from surgical samples versus low-volume samples for EGFR, p53, and Kras were 100% versus 85%, 100% versus 82%, and 100% versus 85%, respectively. Sequencing nine polymerase chain reaction products from each low-volume sample resulted in the exhaustion of all extracted DNA from three samples.

Conclusions: Acquiring a separate low-volume lung biopsy sample for mutational analysis in lung cancer patients during the diagnostic procedure is feasible and may be a valuable complement to the usual diagnostic workflow in future.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

Publication types

Substances