Second primary cancers after resection of lung adenocarcinoma with ras gene mutation

Background: ras gene mutations are associated with a poor prognosis in pati ents with adenocarcinoma of the lung. However, the association between case s with ras gene mutation and an occurrence of second primary cancer is unkn own. Materials and Methods: We examined 89 adenocarcinoma of the lung obtai ned from patients treated by curative resection, and four second primary ca ncers, for mutation at codons 12, 13, and 61 of three ms oncogenes using po lymerase chain reaction and oligonucleotide hybridization techniques. Resul ts: ras gene mutations were detected in 13 cases. Six patients died from re current disease within 3 years. Of the seven patients who survived over 5 y ears, three patients demonstrated a metachronous second primary cancer afte r the operation for lung cancer, and one patient had synchronous laryngeal cancer. Two of the cases with second primary cancer demonstrated the ras ge ne mutation. One had the same mutation as that of the primary lung cancer, and the other had a different mutation from the first lung cancer. Conclusi on: ms gene mutations play an important role in tumor progression of lung a denocarcinoma and also might have an role in the carcinogenesis in respirat ory tract cancer.