1. EGFR Somatic Mutations in Lung Tumors: Radon Exposure and Passive Smoking in Former- and Never-Smoking U.S. Women
- Author
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Kirsi Vähäkangas, Jin Sung Jang, Mohammed A. Khan, Judith A. Welsh, Curtis C. Harris, Leah E. Mechanic, Eric S. Edell, Jin Jen, Robert B. Diasio, Ping Yang, Adam M. Lee, Nobutoshi Hagiwara, Masataka Taga, William P. Bennett, Aaron O. Bungum, and Michael C. R. Alavanja
- Subjects
Oncology ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Lung Neoplasms ,Passive smoking ,Epidemiology ,Somatic cell ,Population ,medicine.disease_cause ,Article ,Tobacco smoke ,Internal medicine ,Humans ,Medicine ,education ,Lung cancer ,Aged ,EGFR inhibitors ,education.field_of_study ,Missouri ,Lung ,business.industry ,Smoking ,Middle Aged ,Prognosis ,medicine.disease ,Confidence interval ,respiratory tract diseases ,ErbB Receptors ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Radon ,Case-Control Studies ,Mutation ,Immunology ,Female ,Tobacco Smoke Pollution ,business - Abstract
Background: Patients with lung cancer with mutations in EGF receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase have improved prognosis when treated with EGFR inhibitors. We hypothesized that EGFR mutations may be related to residential radon or passive tobacco smoke. Methods: This hypothesis was investigated by analyzing EGFR mutations in 70 lung tumors from a population of never and long-term former female smokers from Missouri with detailed exposure assessments. The relationship with passive smoking was also examined in never-smoking female lung cancer cases from the Mayo clinic. Results: Overall, the frequency of EGFR mutation was 41% [95% confidence interval (CI), 32%–49%]. Neither radon nor passive-smoking exposure was consistently associated with EGFR mutations in lung tumors. Conclusions: The results suggest that EGFR mutations are common in female, never-smoking lung cancer cases from the United States, and EGFR mutations are unlikely due to exposure to radon or passive smoking. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 21(6); 988–92. ©2012 AACR.
- Published
- 2012