Title:Lung Cancer Mutations and Use of Targeted Agents in Hispanics
VOLUME: 9 ISSUE: 4
Author(s):W. Douglas Cress, Alberto Chiappori, Pedro Santiago and Teresita Munoz-Antonia
Affiliation:Moffitt Cancer Center, 12902 Magnolia Drive, Tampa, FL 33612, USA.
Keywords:Hispanic, latino, lung cancer, mutations, targeted agents.
Abstract:Hispanic/Latinos (H/L) are expected to grow to over 24% of the USA population by 2050 and lung cancer is
the number one cause of cancer death among H/L men. Due to the information that is becoming available via genetic testing,
lung cancer molecular profiling is allowing for increasing application of personalized lung cancer therapies. However,
to benefit the most people, development of these therapies and genetic tests must include research on as many racial and
ethnic groups as possible. The purpose of this review is to bring attention to the fact that the mutations driving lung cancer
in H/Ls differ in frequency and nature relative to the non-Hispanic White (WNH) majority that dominate current databases
and participate in clinical trials that test new therapies. Clinical trials using new agents targeting genetic alterations
(driver mutations) in lung cancer have demonstrated significant improvements in patient outcomes (for example, gefitinib,
erlotinib or crizotinib for lung adenocarcinomas harboring EGFR mutations or EML4-ALK fusions, respectively). The nature
and frequencies of some lung cancer driver mutations have been shown to be considerably different among racial and
ethnic groups. This is particularly true for H/Ls. For example, several reports suggest a dramatic shift in the mutation pattern
from predominantly KRAS in a WNH population to predominantly EGFR in multiple H/L populations. However,
these studies are limited, and the effects of racial and ethnic differences on the incidence of mutations in lung cancer remain
incompletely understood. This review serves as a call to address this problem.
