Clinical significance of 3q amplification in squamous cell carcinoma of lung

Squamous cell carcinoma (SqCC) is major subtype of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). One of the molecular characteristic of SqCC is amplification of distal portion of 3q. The aim of this study is to find out the clinical significance of the 3q amplification in SqCC of lung. Method : We extracted DNA from 90 cases of FFPE blocks of lung SqCC tissue. Ten genes (PIK3CA, SOX2, KLHL6, MCF2L2, LAMP3, MCCC1, ABCC5, ATP11B, TP63, YEATS2) included in 3q were selected and the amplification of each gene was analyzed by using NanoString nCounter analysis system (PhileKorea). The hierarchical clustering was performed with the resulting values. Results : We identified two groups in all 90 cases of SqCC by hierarchical clustering. One group with 3q amplification was 50 cases, and the other group without 3q amplification was 40 cases. There was no significant difference in sex, age, stage, smoking history, histologic grade and the results of immunohistochemical staining (p63, p40 and p53) between the two groups. It showed the tendency that the group with 3q amplification presented poor disease free survival (P=0.193) and overall survival (P=0.34) than the group without 3q amplification. Among the ten genes, PIK3CA and YEATS2 were significantly associated with survival. Each genes with amplification showed poor disease free survival (PIK3CA; P=0.036, YEATS2; P=0.025). Conclusion : The amplification of 3q can help sorting out two subsets of SqCC of lung whose clinical outcomes are likely to diverge. Among the genes included in 3q, PIK3CA and YEATS2 were associated with prognosis. These finding demonstrate the role of these genes in biologic behavior of tumor and suggest opportunities for targeted therapies. Citation Format: Eunjung Lee, Chungyeul Kim, Han-Kyeom Kim, Baek-hui Kim. Clinical significance of 3q amplification in squamous cell carcinoma of lung [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 3397.