Detection of mutations in clinical cancer specimen is important, and malignant pleural effusion could be important clinical specimen for KRAS mutation study in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Direct sequencing is known to be the standard for detecting KRAS mutations. However, peptide nucleic acids (PNA)-mediated PCR clamping method is a recently introduced method for analyzing KRAS mutations with increased sensitivity and stability. Therefore, we attempted to compare to both methods through serum, effusion, tissue, and cell block if it was available.

A total of 48 malignant effusion being mainly NSCLC was analyzed for KRAS mutations using the PNA-mediated PCR clamping technique and direct sequencing. Proportion of mutation between PNA and sequencing were 14.6% (6.07-27.76) and 10.4% (3.47-22.66) on each. Diagnostic accuracy of mutation detection was that sensitivity 100% (47.82-100.0), specificity 95.35% (84.19-99.43), positive predictive value 71.43%(29.04-96.33), and negative predictive value 100% (91.41-100.0).

In conclusion, we demonstrated the PNA is favorable source for KRAS mutation test in the malignant effusion.

Citation Format: Chan Kwon Park, Chang Dong Yeo, Sang Haak Lee, Hyoung Kyu Yoon, Seung Joon Kim. Comparative analysis of peptide nucleic acid (PNA)-mediated real-time PCR clamping and DNA direct sequencing for KRAS mutation detection in malignant effusion. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Eleventh Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research; 2012 Oct 16-19; Anaheim, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Prev Res 2012;5(11 Suppl):Abstract nr B21.

©2012 American Association for Cancer Research.
2012