Rationale: Although lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in the world, targeted therapy plays an essential role in improving the survival of lung cancer. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology can dynamically monitor the genomic profiles of tumors and assist cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Patient concerns: We reported on a 55-year-old man who presented with chest tightness and wheezing for 1 month.
Diagnoses: The patient was diagnosed with stage cT4N2M1a non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and was found to have wild-type EGFR by pleural effusion cytology.
Interventions: The patient received systemic treatments, including chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and radiotherapy. During the cancer development, sequential DNA sequencing data that used circulating cell-free tumor DNA, and NGS revealed EGFR L858R and T790M mutations, MYC amplification, and other gene variations.
Outcomes: The patient died of brain and lung metastases, and had an overall survival as long as 37 months.
Lessons: The dynamic monitoring of tumor genomic profiles has important implications for NSCLC diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis.