Impact of Aurora Kinase A Polymorphism and Epithelial Growth Factor Receptor Mutations on the Clinicopathological Characteristics of Lung Adenocarcinoma

Lung adenocarcinoma (LADC) is the most common subtype of lung cancer worldwide and the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) has a great influence on its clinical course, mainly due to the influence of different phenotypes. The Aurora kinase A (AURKA) would influence the progression of several solid malignancies. However, whether the interaction between EGFR phenotypes and AURKA would influence the clinical characteristics of LADC remains unknown. Herein, this study aimed to explore the effects of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of AURKA and EGFR phenotypes on the clinicopathological characteristics of LADC. Four loci of AURKA SNPs (rs1047972, rs2273535, rs6024836, and rs2064863) were genotyped using TaqMan allelic discrimination in 105 wild-type EGFR individuals and 167 LADC patients with EGFR mutations. After the statistical analysis, patients with LADC who had CT heterozygotes of AURKA rs1047972 had a lower risk of EGFR mutations than patients with wild-type homozygotes. Moreover, female and nonsmoking patients who carried the CT genotype of AURKA rs1047972 had a lower risk of EGFR mutation (p = 0.008 and p = 0.004, respectively). Moreover, in patients with EGFR mutations, AURKA SNP rs6024836 G allele (AG + GG) carriers had a lower risk of developing advanced-stage LADC (stage III or IV; odds ratio = 0.423, 95% confidence interval: 0.203-0.879, p = 0.019) than patients with AA homozygotes. Our results suggested that AURKA rs1047972 variants are significantly associated with EGFR mutations among patients with LADC, particularly in female and nonsmoking patients. AURKA variants may contribute to the pathological development of LADC.