The landscape of genetic alterations in lung adenocarcinoma derived from Asian patients is largely uncharacterized.

Researchers present an integrated genomic and transcriptomic analysis of 335 primary lung adenocarcinomas and 35 corresponding lymph node metastases from Chinese patients.

Altogether 13 significantly mutated genes are identified, including the most commonly mutated gene TP53 and novel mutation targets such as RHPN2, GLI3 and MRC2. 
TP53 mutations are furthermore significantly enriched in tumors from patients harboring metastases.

Genes regulating cytoskeleton remodelling processes are also frequently altered, especially in metastatic samples, of which the high expression level of IQGAP3 is identified as a marker for poor prognosis.

This study represents the first large-scale sequencing effort on lung adenocarcinoma in Asian patients and provides a comprehensive mutational landscape for both primary and metastatic tumors.

This may thus form a basis for personalized medical care and shed light on the molecular pathogenesis of metastatic lung adenocarcinoma.

http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2015/151209/ncomms10131/full/ncomms10131.html