Coexistence of anaplastic lymphoma kinase rearrangement in lung adenocarcinoma harbouring epidermal growth factor receptor mutation: A single-center study

BACKGROUND: Accumulating evidences confirm that epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation and anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) rearrangement have coexisted in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). However, Its biological mechanism, clinicopathological features, and optimization of targeted drugs have not yet been completely elucidated. AIM: To explore the clinical profile of LUAD patients with co-mutations of EGFR and ALK genes, with hopes of scientifically guiding similar patients towards selected, targeted drugs. METHODS: Two hundred and thirty-seven LUAD patients were enrolled. EGFR mutations were detected by the amplification refractory mutation system-peptide nucleic acid technique, while the expression of ALK rearrangement was screened by the 5′/3′ imbalance strategy for reverse transcription followed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis. The clinicopathological features of these patients were analysed retrospectively, and the follow-up data were collected. RESULTS: There were six cases with co-mutations of EGFR and ALK genes, which were more common in women, non-smoking and stage IV LUAD patients with bone metastasis, hence a positive rate of 2.53% (6/237). EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) were their preferred drugs for targeted therapy in these patients, with progression-free survival ranging from two months to six months. CONCLUSION: In Gannan region, the positive rate of co-mutations of EGFR and ALK genes in LUAD patients is relatively high, and the co-mutations are more common in women, non-smoking and stage IV patients with bone metastasis. These patients prefer EGFR-TKIs as their preferred targeted drugs, but the therapeutic effect is not good. EGFR/ALK dual-TKIs may be more effective targeted drugs, which needs further study.