title: Detection of activated K-ras in non-small cell lung cancer by membrane array: a comparison with direct sequencing.
abstract: The ability to detect K-ras oncogene may provide additional information for the management of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). In the present study, we detected the K-ras oncogene in 76 patients with NSCLC by two methods: direct sequencing of K-ras in tumor tissues and membrane array detection of the gene overexpression specific for activated K-ras in peripheral blood. The results showed that 28 (36.8%) of the 76 Taiwanese NSCLC patients had K-ras mutations, with a frequency of 36.4% (20/55) in adenocarcinomas and 38.1% (8/21) in squamous cell carcinomas. The K-ras mutations were more frequently found in smokers than in non-smokers (51.4 vs. 24.4%, P=0.015). The incidences of K-ras mutation in the subgroups of non-smokers and squamous cell carcinomas are relatively higher in Taiwan than in other countries. On the other hand, the membrane array method could positively detect circulating activated K-ras in all of the 27 NSCLC patients with K-ras mutations at codons 12, 13 and 61, and in 4 of the 48 patients with wild-type K-ras. Our results suggest that the K-ras oncogene membrane array serves as a sensitive and convenient tool for the detection of K-ras oncogene, and therefore, has a great potential for clinical applications.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung 807, Taiwan, R.O.C.
authors.forename: Inn-Wen
authors.initials: IW
authors.lastname: Chong
authors.forename: Mei-Yin
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Chau-Chyun
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Sheu
authors.forename: Cheng-Yuan
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jhi-Jhu
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Hwang
authors.forename: Ming-Shyan
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Shiu-Ru
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Lin
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D011905:Genes, ras / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009154:Mutation; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011379:Prognosis; D013624:Taiwan
chemical_list: D004273:DNA, Neoplasm