Among patients with lung cancer from Latin America, Native American ancestry was associated with increased mutations in the EGFR gene. EGFR is the gene that produces a protein called epidermal growth factor receptor which helps cells grow and divide.
Many lung cancers are now treatable with targeted therapy or immunotherapy, so it is very important for patients with lung cancer to undergo genetic testing to determine which treatments are most likely to be effective for their particular cancer. Patients with cancer that has an EGFR mutation generally respond positively to treatment with the drug erlotinib (aka Tarceva).
See “Native American Ancestry Associated With Increased Mutations in EGFR Gene Among Latin American Patients With Lung Cancer” on the American Association fpor Cancer Research website (December 2, 2020)
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