K-RAS Oncogene Mutation in Patients With Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Associated With Exposure to Wood Smoke and Tobacco Smoking: Therapeutic Implications

Summary: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is the leading cause of cancer-related death in the world. This neoplasia has a poor survival prognosis due to the low effectiveness of existing treatments. The low effectiveness is associated with the development of an intrinsic and acquired resistance of tumors, which clinically shows through early progression and transitory responses. Tobacco smoking is the major risk factor for NSCLC; however, wood smoke has been described as a strong carcinogen and a relevant risk factor for the development of NSCLC. Current data indicates that lung tumors associated with tobacco smoking and wood smoke show different clinical characteristics, which suggests that they might also have different genetic alterations, which are a consequence of tumor etiology. The description of the frequency and the type of mutations associated with different etiologies of NSCLC could represent the starting point for benefiting each patient according to their specific characteristics. One of the most researched signaling pathways related to cancer cell proliferation is the one activated by the K-RAS oncogene. Active K-RAS mutations have been detected in different types of neoplasia and more than 90% of these mutations occur at codon 12 of the oncogene. These mutations seem to be an independent risk factor for the prognosis of malignant tumors and they are associated with the lack of response to erlotinib, which is a tyrosine-kinase inhibitor. The investigators' research team has recently reported that wood smoke is an independent factor for survival and response to the erlotinib treatment, which suggests that this carcinogen could have a different frequency and pattern of mutations in the K-RAS oncogene, compared to what has been reported in smoking patients. Determining the tumor mutations within the K-RAS oncogene can help improve the response prognosis of patients with advanced NSCLC who have a background of exposure to different factors associated with the appearance of this neoplasia, such as wood smoke exposure or tobacco smoking. Therefore, the objective of this research is to determine the frequency and the type of mutations at codon 12 of the K-RAS oncogene in patients with NSCLC who have a background of exposure to tobacco smoking or wood smoke.

Sex

All

Minimum age

18 Years

Inclusion Criteria:

* Patients diagnosed with advanced NSCLC stage IIIB/IV who have not received previous chemotherapy
* Radiotherapy or both and who have tumor tissue embedded in paraffin blocks or formalin-fixed
* These patients must sign an informed consent letter.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Patients who refuse to participate in the study or those who decide to withdraw from it.
* Patients without tumor tissue or with a poor quality sample.

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