AUTHOR=Eklund Ella A. , Mourad Ali , Wiel Clotilde , Sayin Sama I. , Fagman Henrik , Hallqvist Andreas , Sayin Volkan I. 

TITLE=Assessing the prognostic value of KRAS mutation combined with tumor size in stage I-II non-small cell lung cancer: a retrospective analysis

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oncology

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2024.1396285

DOI=10.3389/fonc.2024.1396285

ISSN=2234-943X

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Background</title><p><italic>KRAS</italic> mutation status is a well-established independent prognostic factor in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), yet its role in early-stage disease is unclear. Here, we investigate the prognostic value of combining survival data on <italic>KRAS</italic> mutation status and tumor size in stage I-II NSCLC.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>We studied the combined impact of <italic>KRAS</italic> mutational status and tumor size on overall survival (OS) in patients with stage I-II NSCLC. We performed a retrospective study including 310 diagnosed patients with early (stage I-II) NSCLCs. All molecularly assessed patients diagnosed with stage I-II NSCLC between 2016–2018 in the Västra Götaland Region of western Sweden were screened in this multi-center retrospective study. The primary study outcome was overall survival.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>Out of 310 patients with stage I-II NSCLC, 37% harbored an activating mutation in the <italic>KRAS</italic> gene. Our study confirmed staging and tumor size as prognostic factors. However, <italic>KRAS</italic> mutational status was not found to impact OS and there was no difference in the risk of death when combining <italic>KRAS</italic> mutational status and primary tumor size.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusions</title><p>In our patient cohort, <italic>KRAS</italic> mutations in combination with primary tumor size did not impact prognosis in stage I-II NSCLC.</p></sec>