Abstract 2525: Low frequency TP53 mutations in airway epithelial cells serve as lung cancer risk biomarker

Background: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in men and women in the United States. Based on evidence from controlled trials in the United States and Europe that low dose CT (LDCT) screening significantly reduces lung cancer mortality, the United States Preventative Services Tasks Force (USPSTF) recommends LDCT screening for individuals with high demographic risk based on age and smoking history. However, a large fraction of lung cancers occur in individuals who do not meet LDCT screening threshold criteria. Thus, there is a need for biomarkers that supplement demographic factors to more accurately detect those at highest lung cancer risk and include additional individuals who will benefit from LDCT screening. An initial study from this lab demonstrated that TP53 mutations with 0.05-1.0% variant allele fraction (VAF) were significantly more prevalent (p