Your 54-year-old male patient who is a lifelong nonsmoker comes back to your office for followup of a RUL nodule after a recent biopsy you performed revealed stage IV non-small cell lung cancer. His oncologist said that a “signet ring” sign was seen on his biopsy and that he has a gene abnormality seen on the FISH sample. The patient wants to know your opinion of how well people with his condition respond to traditional chemotherapy and if there are any new drugs on the horizon which could help.
What genetic defect is most likely given the patient’s description and what is its response to treatment?
A. EGFR mutation; longer survival with tyrosine kinase inhibitors
B. EGFR mutation: longer survival with crizotinib
C. EML4-ALK gene rearrangement; longer survival with tyrosine kinase inhibitors
D.EML4-ALK gene rearrangement; longer survival with crizotinib
E. KRAS mutation; less than optimal response to traditional chemotherapy
See the following:
