EGFR Mutations in Latinos From the United States and Latin America.

PURPOSE: Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations confer sensitivity to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). There are limited and conflicting reports on the frequency of EGFR mutations in Latinos.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Samples from 642 patients with NSCLC from seven institutions in the United States and Latin America were assessed for EGFR mutations (exons 18 to 21) at Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments-certified central laboratories.

RESULTS: EGFR mutation analysis was successfully performed in 480 (75%) of 642 patients; 90 (19%) were Latinos, 318 (66%) were non-Latino whites, 35 (7%) were non-Latino Asians, 30 (6%) were non-Latino blacks, and seven (2%) were of other races or ethnicities. EGFR mutations were found in 21 (23%) of 90 Latinos with varying frequencies according to the country of origin; Latinos from Peru (37%), followed by the United States (23%), Mexico (18%), Venezuela (10%), and Bolivia (8%). In never-smoker Latinos and Latinos with adenocarcinoma histology, EGFR mutation frequencies were 38% and 30%, respectively. There was a significant difference in the frequency of EGFR mutations among the different racial and ethnic subgroups analyzed (P < .001), with non-Latino Asians having the highest frequency (57%) followed by Latinos (23%), non-Latino whites (19%), and non-Latino blacks (10%). There was no difference between Latinos (23%) and non-Latinos (22%; P = .78) and Latinos and non-Latino whites (P = .37). Patients from Peru had an overall higher frequency of mutations (37%) than all other Latinos (17%), but this difference only exhibited a trend toward significance (P = .058).

CONCLUSION: There was no significant difference between the frequency of EGFR mutations in NSCLC in Latinos and non-Latinos.