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A. Gasco



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    MO26 - Anatomical Pathology II (ID 129)

    • Event: WCLC 2013
    • Type: Mini Oral Abstract Session
    • Track: Pathology
    • Presentations: 1
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      MO26.08 - The concomitant presence of echinoderm microtubule associated protein like 4 - anaplastic lymphoma kinase (EML4-ALK) EML4-ALK fusion gene in EGFR-mutant non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients treated with erlotinib or chemotherapy in the EURTAC trial</b> (ID 1109)

      11:10 - 11:15  |  Author(s): A. Gasco

      • Abstract
      • Presentation
      • Slides

      Background
      Activating mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) confer sensitivity to gefitinib and erlotinib in patients with NSCLC. However, response is often short-lived, and patients ultimately relapse, indicating that other concomitant actionable mutations could influence outcome in these patients. The EML4-ALK fusion gene has recently been identified in a subset of NSCLCs, but its specific role remains unclear. We have evaluated the frequency and impact of the concomitant presence of EML4-ALK in patients included in the randomized phase III EURTAC trial.

      Methods
      The EURTAC study enrolled 173 EGFR-mutant NSCLC patients who were randomized to receive erlotinib or standard chemotherapy with cisplatin or carboplatin plus docetaxel or gemcitabine. Tumor specimens were available from 95 of these patients for the analysis of EML4-ALK. EML4-ALK variants 1 and 3 (v1, v3) were analyzed by an independent single round of PCR followed by sequencing, using cDNA as a sample.

      Results
      EML4-ALK was detected in 15 samples (15.79%). Nine tumors contained v1 (E13;A20) and six v3 (E6;A20). No significant differences were found in baseline characteristics between patients with and without EML4-ALK. Progression-free survival was 10.4 months (m) for patients harboring the EML4-ALK fusion gene compared to 7.1 m for those without EML4-ALK. Overall survival (OS) was not reached in patients with EML4-ALK, compared to 22.9 m in those without. Complete data on outcome according to treatment arm will be presented.

      Conclusion
      Our findings indicate that the EML4-ALK rearrangement is concomitant with EGFR mutations in a considerable number of NSCLC patients and may affect outcome.

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