More gene testing found a second target in one woman's lung cancer
Original title: Co-Occurring EGFR L858R Mutation and HER2 Amplification in NSCLC Identified by Stepwise Molecular Profiling.
How far along is this research?
- Lab cells
- Animals
- Review
- Tested in people
This was tested in people. That is the most reliable kind of research we share.
This is one patient's story, not a study that tested anything in a group of people.
The short version
One woman's tumor had a gene change that her first test missed, and a later test found it.
What was studied. This is a report about one patient. She was a 54 year old woman who never smoked, with lung cancer that later spread to her brain. Doctors ran more gene tests on her tumor over time.
What they found. Her first gene test came back negative for an EGFR change. A later test found a HER2 gene change, and she stayed stable for 23 months on a drug called trastuzumab. A deeper test of stored tissue then found an EGFR L858R change that the first test had missed, and she was started on gefitinib in May 2025.
What this means, and what it doesn't
What it could mean: Gene tests on a tumor can miss things. If a first test finds nothing, a broader test may still find a target that a drug can treat. You can ask your care team what kind of gene testing was done on your tumor.
What it doesn't mean: This is one person's story, not a study. It does not prove that this way of testing helps other people. The authors say you cannot draw broad rules from a single case. It is not a new treatment and it is not a cure. Also, this was lung cancer that spread to the brain, not a tumor that started in the brain.
Source: PubMed, September 2, 2026 · Read the original
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