WCLC 2025 - Posters & ePosters-EP.06.26 Resectable Lung Cancer With KRAS Mutation May Have Less Lymphatic Metastasis

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This study from Tohoku University analyzed 291 cases of resectable early-stage lung cancer between January 2022 and July 2024, focusing on driver gene mutations and their association with pathological features. Using multigene PCR panel testing, the researchers identified mutations in EGFR (37%), KRAS (14%), and other genes such as BRAF, HER2, RET, and MET, with 40% of tumors negative for known driver mutations.<br /><br />Key findings centered on KRAS-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Patients with KRAS mutations showed significantly less lymph node metastasis (N1/N2: 5%) compared to KRAS-negative cases (16%, p=0.038). Similarly, lymphatic invasion was less frequent in KRAS mutants (8% vs 17%), though this was not statistically significant. Conversely, KRAS-mutated tumors had a higher tendency for pleural invasion, suggesting that tumor spread for these cases may occur more via pleural dissemination rather than lymphatic pathways.<br /><br />These findings contrast with some previous reports and highlight the heterogeneity of KRAS-mutated lung cancers. The study concludes that KRAS mutations in early-stage NSCLC are associated with less lymphatic metastasis but more pleural invasion, which could influence disease prognosis and patterns of tumor dissemination.<br /><br />Overall, the research suggests the invasion mechanism of KRAS-mutated lung cancers differs from other driver mutations like EGFR, emphasizing the importance of genetic profiling even in early resectable lung cancers to better understand their pathological behavior and potential therapeutic implications.

Asset Subtitle

Chikara Nakagami

Meta Tag

Speaker Chikara Nakagami

Topic Pathology and Biomarkers

Keywords

Tohoku University

early-stage lung cancer

driver gene mutations

EGFR mutation

KRAS mutation

non-small cell lung cancer

lymph node metastasis

pleural invasion

multigene PCR panel

tumor dissemination