K-ras gene point mutation: a stable tumor marker in non-small cell lung carcinoma.
K-ras gene point mutation is a highly frequent event in human malignancy. About one third of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients harbor K-ras gene point mutational activations. This study investigates the prevalence of K-ras mutation in autopsy tumors with NSCLC, and the correlation of K-ras gene point mutations between primary tumors and metastases in NSCLC. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue sections of 15 primary lung tumors and their metastases, (obtained from autopsy), were examined for the presence of point mutations in K-ras gene codon 12, 13 and 61 by oligodeoxynucleotide hybridization analysis of DNA fragments, amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). K-ras gene point mutations were detected in five cases of lung carcinoma, of which four were adenocarcinomas and one was squamous cell carcinoma. In each of these cases, identical K-ras gene mutations were found in the DNA of both the primary tumor and its corresponding distant metastases. Activating K-ras base-substitutions correlate well between the primary tumor and its corresponding metastases in NSCLC. In the negative cases where no K-ras mutation was found in the primary tumors, no newly acquired K-ras mutation appeared in the metastases. Our study indicates that K-ras point mutation serves as a stable tumor marker in NSCLC.
Li
S
S
Department of Medical Oncology, University Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol, Badalona, Barcelona, Spain.
Rosell
R
R
Urban
A
A
Font
A
A
Ariza
A
A
Armengol
P
P
Abad
A
A
Navas
J J
JJ
Monzo
M
M
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000235:genetics; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001483:Base Sequence; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000235:genetics*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000235:genetics; D003062:Codon / Q000235:genetics; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D011905:Genes, ras; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis; D017354:Point Mutation; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016283:Proto-Oncogene Proteins p21(ras) / Q000235:genetics*
D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D003062:Codon; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm; C501009:HRAS protein, human; D016283:Proto-Oncogene Proteins p21(ras)