Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), a transmembrane protein, is a member of the tyrosine kinase family. Gefitinib, an EGFR tyrosine-kinase inhibitors, has shown a high response rate in the treatment of lung cancer in patients with EGFR mutation. However, significant differences in EGFR mutations exist among different ethnic groups. The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of EGFR mutations in Uighur lung adenocarcinoma patients by using a rapid and sensitive detection method and to analyze EGFR mutation differences compared with Han lung adenocarcinoma patients. METHODS: We examined lung adenocarcinoma tissues from 138 patients, including 68 Uighur lung adenocarcinoma patients and 70 Han lung adenocarcinoma patients, for EGFR mutations in exons 18, 19, 20, and 21 by using the amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS) PCR method. The mutation differences between Uighur and Han lung adenocarcinoma were compared by using the chi-square test method. RESULTS: EGFR mutations were detected in 43 (31.2%) of the 138 lung adenocarcinoma patients. EGFR mutations were detected in 11 (16.2%) of the 68 Uighur lung adenocarcinoma patients and in 32 (45.7%) of the 70 Han lung adenocarcinoma patients. Significant differences were observed in the EGFR mutations between Uighur lung adenocarcinoma patients and Han lung adenocarcinoma patients (P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that the EGFR mutation in Uighur lung adenocarcinoma patients (16.2%) is significantly lower than that in Han lung adenocarcinoma patients (45.7%).