Identification of ALK, ROS1, RET, MET Mutation in EGFR Wild-Type Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Patients and Their Associations with Clinicopathological Factors
Abstract
Objective: Genetic alterations in non-small cell lung cancer, including ALK, ROS1, RET, and MET, have been discovered, and they play a vital role in the advancement of targeted therapies for lung cancer. This study was conducted to detect the presence of ALK, ROS1, RET, and MET mutations, and to explore the correlation between these mutations and various clinicopathological factors.
Material and Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out involving 69 patients diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer at the Vietnam National Cancer Hospital from June to October 2022. Samples were identified through histopathological assessments using the PCR method. Data were analysed by descriptive statistics and Chi-Square tests with SPSS 25.0 software.
Results: The study indicated that ALK mutations had the highest prevalence at 21.7%, followed by ROS1 mutations at 8.7%. RET mutations were observed with a prevalence of 4.3%, while MET mutations were the least common at 1.5%. Notably, an association was found between ROS1 mutations and female patients (p-value=0.005). The observed mutation rates and their associations with some factors differed from the trends reported in numerous international studies (p-value>0.05).
Conclusion: The study identified 4 mutations in samples extracted from non-small cell lung Vietnamese-cohort patients. Female patients had more ROS1 mutations than males. Future studies with larger sample sizes, improved selection criteria, and studies on more parameters are needed in order to demonstrate a more accurate picture of the status of these mutations in Vietnam.
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