Photo Credit: Giotto

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) offers a significant advantage over real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) in identifying EGFR mutations for targeted therapy in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to a retrospective study published in Lung Cancer. Since RT-qPCR-based approaches often fail to detect new or uncommon EGFR mutations, Pasquale Pisapia, MD, PhD, and colleagues sought to examine NGS’s performance for detecting both common and uncommon mutations. The study involved 1,312 patients with advanced NSCLC. The researchers analyzed data from NGS testing conducted between January 2018 and December 2022, identifying 234 EGFR mutations in 192 patients (15.9%). In comparison, commonly used RT-qPCR assays identified only 17–18 mutations (8.9%–9.4%) within their reference ranges, suggesting that many actionable mutations would have been missed using RT-qPCR alone. The researchers emphasized NGS’s superior sensitivity in detecting common and uncommon EGFR mutations, which could enhance decision-making for targeted therapies.