Methodology and clinical significance of detecting EGFR-T790M mutation in advanced non-small cell lung cancer / 中国肿瘤临床

ABSTRACT

Epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) comprise an effective therapy for advanced non-small cell lung cancer patients with EGFR-activating mutations. Unfortunately, most patients eventually develop resistance to EG-FR-TKIs, probably due to a secondary point mutation of EGFR T790M. Thus, a sensitive method for accurate detection of T790M mu-tation is essential. Peripheral blood detection has gained our attention because it is convenient, making dynamic noninvasive quantita-tive detection of T790M mutation an optimal means of monitoring the efficacy of EGFR-TKIs. To date, the clinical significance of T790M mutation and EGFR-TKI resistance remains controversial. Several EGFR-TKIs targeting EGFR mutation, which have been in-troduced in recent years, showed better response in patients with T790M mutation, indicating that T790M may be a biomarker for con-quering resistance. This review introduces the methodology of T790M detection and its role in clinical practice.