Comparison of Confirmed Cytology Smears and Cell Blocks for Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Mutation Testing in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Introduction: Various cytologic specimens have been used to diagnose epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene mutations in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, insufficient samples and lengthy DNA extraction procedures have led to inconsistent diagnostic results. To reduce manipulation losses and improve DNA extraction quality, we provide an improved procedure for DNA extraction from smear samples containing rare tumor cells in NSCLC.

Patients and methods: The effectiveness of this new method for DNA extraction and diagnosis was validated in 8 patients with pleural effusion smears and formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded cell blocks, and another with 2 smears. Smear samples with <5% tumor cells were collected, and visible particles were selected for DNA extraction after centrifugation. Qiagen formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded DNA extraction kit (Qiagen) was used for DNA extraction and the procedure was modified. The EGFR mutation analysis in both types of material used the EGFR mutation analysis kit (Therascreen EGFR RGQ PCR) and real-time polymerase chain reaction (Rotor-Gene Q).

Results: The DNA extraction amount of the smear was 2.6 to 258.8 ng/μL, and that of the cell block was 1.4 to 139.9 ng/μL. The DNA quantity and purity of DNA extracts isolated from both sample sources were sufficient for subsequent EGFR mutation detection, where mutation rates were similar and diagnostic results were consistent when smears or cell blocks were used.

Conclusion: This improved method demonstrates that cytology smears can be used as a test material for the detection of EGFR mutations in patients with NSCLC with sparse cells.