Different MET gene alterations in lung adenocarcinoma patients

Introduction. In this study, we attempted to detect selected abnormalities in the MET gene using various molecular techniques. Material and methods. Twenty-six lung adenocarcinoma patients had a diagnosis of abnormalities in the genes: EGFR, ALK, ROS1 , MET, and RET. They were diagnosed using various techniques and assessment of PD-L1 expression using immunohistochemistry. Copy number variation of MET gene was assessed by qPCR and FISH techniques, MET exon 14 mutation by RT-PCR method, and MET mRNA expression by the RT-qPCR technique. Statistical analyses were performed using Statistica v. 13.1 and MedCalc 15.8. Results. Most patients (57.7%) had a high MET gene copy number in the qPCR method, which was not confirmed by the FISH method. A significant positive correlation (R = +0.573, p = 0.0022) between the MET gene copy number assessed with the qPCR method and the relative MET mRNA expression was found. Conclusions. The positive correlation between the MET mRNA expression and the MET gene copy number in the qPCR test indicates that these methods could complement each other. The performance of these two tests simultaneously increases the reliability of the MET gene assessment.