Identifying EGFR mutations from SCLC patient plasma by mutant-enriched liquidchip technology.

Background: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) such as erlotinib and gefitinib are targeted drugs for the kinase domain of EGFR. They are widely used for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The EGFR exon 19 deletion mutation and the L858R mutation in exon 21 comprise approximately 90% of the somatic mutations in NSCLC patients that respond to EGFR TKI.

Expression and mutation of the c-kit gene and correlation with prognosis of small cell lung cancer.

Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a highly aggressive and lethal type of cancer in humans. SCLC is sensitive to chemotherapy and radiotherapy, but long-term survival is low and the majority of patients eventually develop progressive disease. With the success of imatinib mesylate in the treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumors expressing c-kit, its use in SCLC serves as a novel molecular therapeutic approach.