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Purpose: Tumor somatic mutation analysis is part of the standard management of metastatic lung cancer. However, physicians often have to deal with small biopsies and consequently with challenging mutation testing. Circulating free DNA (cfDNA) is a promising tool for accessing the tumor genome as a liquid biopsy. Here, we evaluated next-generation sequencing (NGS) on cfDNA samples obtained from a consecutive series of patients for the screening of a range of clinically relevant mutations.Experimental Design: A total of 107 plasma samples were collected from the BioCAST/IFCT-1002 lung cancer study (never-smokers cohort). Matched tumor DNA (tDNA) was obtained for 68 cases. Multiplex PCR-based assays were designed to target specific coding regions in EGFR, KRAS, BRAF, ERBB2, and PI3KCA genes, and amplicon sequencing was performed at deep coverage on the cfDNA/tDNA pairs using the NGS IonTorrent Personal Genome Machine Platform.Results: CfDNA concentration in plasma was significantly associated with both stage and number of metastatic sites. In tDNA, 50 mutations (36 EGFR, 5 ERBB2, 4 KRAS, 3 BRAF, and 2 PIK3CA) were identified, of which 26 were detected in cfDNA. Sensitivity of the test was 58% (95% confidence interval, 43%-71%) and the estimated specificity was 87% (62%-96%).Conclusion: These data demonstrate the feasibility and potential utility of mutation screening in cfDNA using IonTorrent NGS for the detection of a range of tumor biomarkers in patients with metastatic lung cancer. Clin Cancer Res; 20(17); 4613-24. Ó2014 AACR.

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Lymph node metastasis is an important prognosis factor in non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) in lymph node progression in the early stages of NSCLC. We studied a retrospective cohort of 160 consecutive surgically treated NSCLC patients with available frozen tumor samples for expression of EMT markers (CDH1, CTNNB1, CDH2, and VIMENTIN), inducers (TGFB1, c‐MET, and CAIX), and transcription factors (EMT‐TF:SNAI1, SNAI2, ZEB1, TWIST1, and TWIST2). Partial EMT was more frequent in N1‐2 (N+) vs N0 patients (P < .01). TGFB1 (P = .02) as well as SNAI2 (P < .01) and TWIST1 (P = .04) were the most differentially expressed genes in N+ tumors. In this group, ZEB1 was correlated with all EMT inducers and other EMT‐TFs were overexpressed depending on the inducers. CAIX was an independent prognostic factor for overall survival (IC 95% HR: 1.10‐5.14, P = .03). Partial EMT is involved in lymph node progression of NSCLC patients and depends on the TGFβ pathway. EMT‐TFs are differentially expressed depending on EMT inducers. CAIX might be a relevant prognostic marker in early stage NSCLC.

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Gastrointestinal metastases from lung cancer are rare and usually asymptomatic. We report a case of small bowel metastases from primary lung cancer revealed by abdominal pain and severe recurrent anaemia. The diagnosis was obtained with capsule endoscopy. This non-invasive procedure thus represents a valuable method contributing to a rapid and detailed diagnosis while reducing underdiagnosis, and it should thus be considered for lung cancer patients complaining of abdominal symptoms, which may indeed be related to gastrointestinal metastases.