Genomic Profiling and Clinicopathological Characteristics of Neuroendocrine Tumors of the Lung in East Asian Patients

Abstract

Background/aim: In recent years, the genomic landscape of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) of the lung has been investigated. However, more data are necessary to elucidate the heterogeneous nature of NETs, especially in East Asian patients.

Patients and methods: A total of 64 patients who underwent surgical resection for lung NETs [26 typical or atypical carcinoid tumors, 21 large-cell neuroendocrine carcinomas (LCNECs), and 19 small-cell lung carcinomas (SCLCs)] were enrolled, and samples from 46 patients were subjected to targeted next-generation sequencing.

Results: Co-mutations of tumor protein p53 (TP53) and RB transcriptional corepressor 1 (RB1) were detected in 15%, 42%, and 93% of carcinoid tumors, LCNECs, and SCLCs, respectively. Oncogenic or targetable genetic alterations identified in this study included mutations of KRAS proto-oncogene (KRAS), phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate 3-kinase catalytic subunit alpha (PIK3CA), ALK receptor tyrosine kinase (ALK), mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 1 (MAP2K1), and isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1), as well as amplifications of erb-b2 receptor tyrosine kinase 2 (ERBB2), fibroblast growth factor receptor 1 (FGFR1), CD274 molecule (CD274), and MYCN proto-oncogene (MYCN). These alterations were more frequently found in high-grade NETs than in carcinoid tumors (33.3% vs. 7.7%). Programmed cell death-ligand 1 expression was strongly associated with the LCNEC subtype among NETs (p=0.002).

Conclusion: The mutational status of TP53 and RB1 was significantly associated with NET subtypes in East Asian patients. Targeted therapy or immunotherapy may serve as a treatment option in a subset of patients with high-grade NETs.