Applying NGS in cancer research

Clinical collaborator: Dr. Kumar Prabhash (TMH)

While our recent study establish 23% EGFR mutation frequency among Indian population, here we undertake to further analyze the distribution of different types of EGFR mutations in 1018 non small cell lung cancer patient and its co-relation with clinical parameters and geographical variation across the country. While EGFR exon 19 mutations, the most frequent EGFR mutation, were found be higher among non smokers females, we find surprisingly higher incidence of exon 21 mutations among EGFR mutation positive male smokers of Indian ethnicity. Furthermore, as Indian population is known to be composed of a gradient admixture of Ancestral North Indian (with genetic influence from Middle Easterners, Central Asians, and Europeans harboring variant EGFR mutation frequency) and Ancestral South Indians, as a paradox our study indicates comparable EGFR mutation frequency across different geographical locations within India.

[Frequency and Overall mutation rate of different variables in NSCLC (1018)]