Development of therapeutic strategies utilizing changes in the immune microenvironment in driver mutation positive lung cancer.

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K08896
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 55040:Respiratory surgery-related
• Research Institution: National Hospital Organization, Beppu Medical Center (2023); National Hospital Organization, Kyushu Cancer Center (2021-2022)
• Principal Investigator: Tatsuro Okamoto 独立行政法人国立病院機構別府医療センター(臨床研究部), 臨床研究部, 臨床研究部長 (80568626)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 高森 信吉 独立行政法人国立病院機構(九州がんセンター臨床研究センター), その他部局等, 呼吸器腫瘍科医師 (20839542) ; 田口 健一 独立行政法人国立病院機構(九州がんセンター臨床研究センター), その他部局等, 病理診断科部長、臨床検査科部長、腫瘍病理学研究室長 (40325527)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: lung cancer / EGFR muation / malignant phenotype

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In lung cancer with EGFR gene mutations, noninvasive and invasive cancers were selected based on high-resolution CT images and pathological information, and clinically significant molecular abnormalities were explored by comprehensive analysis of gene expression and gene changes using NGS analysis. 1) In transcriptome analysis, there were 53 genes whose mRNA expression differed significantly between the two groups. 2) The total number of variants in the exome analysis tended to be higher in the advanced stage group than in the early stage group. The difference in the total number of variants between the two groups was 3.2% of all mutations. The number of indel and SNV mutations also tended to be higher in the advanced stage group.

Free Research Field

General Thoracic Surgery

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

今回の研究において、EGFR変異肺癌の高悪性化には、癌関連遺伝子のダイナミックな発現変化および共存遺伝子変異の増加が関与していることが明らかとなった。Collagen XI alpha 1（COL11A1）発現亢進がEGFR変異肺癌における腫瘍微小環境の高悪性化に関与する可能性が示唆された。