AACR Logo Squamous cell lung cancer patients with a mutation in the DDR2 gene apparently have some good news stored in the following article. A groundbreaking research initiated by the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute claims that a mutation in the DDR2 gene can detect which patients with squamous cell lung cancer will respond to the cancer drug dasatinib. This therapy for chronic myelogenous leukemia appears both safe and effective.

During the investigation, scientists used standard genetic sequencing techniques to lay hands on mutations within DDR2 kinase gene. Approximately 3 percent of squamous cell lung cancers and cell lines allegedly had mutations in this gene. Researchers also found that tumor cells with such mutations may respond to treatment with dasatinib.

In conclusion, lead researcher Matthew Meyerson, M.D., Ph.D., professor of pathology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and colleagues mention that dasatinib can be beneficial for squamous cell lung cancer patients. Additional investigations can be undertaken to test the efficacy of dasatinib in the setting of squamous cell lung cancer.

The research is published in the journal Cancer Discovery.