Differences of genomic alterations and heavy metals in non-small cell lung cancer with different histological subtypes

PURPOSE: This study aimed to explore the correlations among heavy metals concentration, histologic subtypes and molecular characteristics in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). METHODS: In this study, an NGS panel of 82 tumor-associated genes was used to identify genomic alternations in 180 newly diagnosed patients with NSCLC. The concentrations of 18 heavy metals in the serum samples were detected by inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometry (ICP-MS). RESULTS: A total of 243 somatic mutations of 25 mutant genes were identified in 115 of 148 patients with LUAD and 45 somatic mutations of 15 mutant genes were found in 24 of 32 patients with LUSC. The genomic alternations, somatic interactions, traditional serum biomarkers, and heavy metals were markedly different between patients with LUAD and LUSC. Moreover, patients with LUSC were significantly positively correlated with Ba, but not LUAD. Lastly, patients with EGFR mutations presented significant negative correlations with Cd and Sr, whereas patients with TP53 mutations showed a significant positive correlation with Pb. CONCLUSION: The genomic alternations, somatic interactions, traditional serum biomarkers, and heavy metals were different between patients with LUAC and LUSC, and heavy metals (e.g., Ba, Pb, and Cd) may contribute to the tumorigenesis of NSCLC with different histological and molecular subtypes. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00432-023-04929-2.