title: High feasibility of liquid-based cytological samples for detection of EGFR mutations in Chinese patients with NSCLC.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Activating mutations of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) could predict response to tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) treatment in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, the detection of EGFR mutation is frequently challenging in clinical practice for the lack of tumor tissue. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of performing EGFR mutation testing on various types of liquid-based cytology (LBC) samples.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 434 liquid-based cytology samples were collected from March 2010 and November 2013. Among them, 101 with diagnosis of lung adenocarcinoma had paired surgically resected specimens. The ADx Amplification Refractory Mutation System (ADx-ARMS) was used to determine EGFR mutation status both in LBC and resected samples.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All liquid-based cytology samples were adequate for EGFR mutation analysis. The mutation rate was 50.5% in the 434 NSCLC patients with LBC samples and the incidence rates of EGFR mutation were consistent among different specimens. We also detected EGFR positives in 52.5% (53/101) patients with paired histologic specimens. The concordance rate of EGFR mutation between LBC samples and paired histologic specimens was 92.1%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest that liquid-based cytology samples are highly reliable for EGFR mutation testing in patients with NSCLC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China E-mail : chestpathology@126.com.
authors.forename: Chun-Yan
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Li-Kun
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.forename: Sheng-Xiang
authors.initials: SX
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Su
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000235:genetics / Q000556:secondary* / Q000601:surgery; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000601:surgery; D003581:Cytodiagnosis; D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D066246:ErbB Receptors / Q000235:genetics*; D005091:Exons / Q000235:genetics; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000601:surgery; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics*; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: C512478:EGFR protein, human; D066246:ErbB Receptors