Patent ID: 7964349

Claim:
A method for determining an increased likelihood of pharmacological effectiveness of treatment by gefitinib or erlotinib in an individual diagnosed with lung cancer comprising, determining in lung tumor tissue from the individual, the presence or absence of at least one nucleotide variance in exon 18, 19 or 21 of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene, wherein the presence of at least one nucleotide variance selected from: a. a nucleotide variance in exon 18 comprising a substitution of thymine for guanine or adenine for guanine at nucleotide 2400 of SEQ ID NO: 511, or a substitution of cytosine for guanine at nucleotide 2401 of SEQ ID NO: 511, or resulting in a substitution of Cysteine, Serine or Alanine for Glycine, at amino acid 719 of SEQ ID NO: 512; b. a nucleotide variance in exon 19 comprising a deletion of nucleotides 2486-2493 of SEQ ID NO: 511, or resulting in a deletion of at least amino acids leucine, arginine and glutamic acid, at codons 747, 748, and 749 of SEQ ID NO: 512; or c. a nucleotide variance in exon 21 comprising a substitution of guanine for a thymine at nucleotide 2818 of SEQ ID NO: 511, or a substitution of adenine for thymine at nucleotide 2827 of SEQ ID NO: 511, or resulting in a substitution of Arginine for Leucine at amino acid 858 of SEQ ID NO: 512 or resulting in a substitution of Glutamine for Leucine at amino acid 861 of SEQ ID NO: 512; indicates an increased likelihood of pharmacological effectiveness of treatment by gefitinib or erlotinib in the individual.