Detection of EGFR Mutations in Circulating Tumor DNA (ctDNA) Retrieved from Plasma - Interlaboratory Quality Assessment in the Czech Republic.

Background: Detection of EGFR mutations in tumor tissue represents a standard testing procedure in patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Molecular testing of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) in plasma enables detection of mutations in cases where tumor specimens are unavailable or when monitoring of therapeutic responses is necessary. In addition, according to the recent literature, ctDNA better reflects the heterogeneity of the neoplastic cell population than isolated tumor lesion or metastasis.

Identification of atypical ATRNL1 insertion to EML4-ALK fusion gene in NSCLC.

We herein present a rare case of an EML4-ALK positive patient. A 61-year-old man was diagnosed with locoregional non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). No EGFR mutations were detected, and therefore the ALK rearrangement was evaluated using immunohistochemistry (IHC), fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and the reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) method for EML4-ALK.

TaqMan based real time PCR assay targeting EML4-ALK fusion transcripts in NSCLC.

Objectives: Lung cancer with the ALK rearrangement constitutes only a small fraction of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, in the era of molecular-targeted therapy, efficient patient selection is crucial for successful treatment. In this context, an effective method for EML4-ALK detection is necessary.