Scientists identify rare genetic mutation that dramatically raises risk of lung cancer in nonsmokers

Scientists identified a hereditary EGFR T790M mutation: in nonsmoking carriers, lung cancer risk is 62 times higher, and in smokers, 11 times higher. The study on data from 3.3 million people from 23andMe was published in Science; the mutation is more common in those born in the southeastern US.

• T790M mutation occurs in 1 in 15,850 people of European descent
• Carriers develop lung cancer on average 5 years earlier
• In Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee, mutation occurs in 1 in 2,078 people
• Clinical trial of CT screening for mutation carriers underway