Objectives: To define the histological types of primary lung cancer in Bahrain and to determine prevalence of EGFR and ALK mutation in patients with non-small cell lung carcinoma.
Methods: Data regarding Bahraini patients diagnosed with primary lung cancer between January 2013 and December 2018 were collected from the lab information system in Salmaniya medical complex, Manama, Bahrain.
Results: One hundred and forty-three Bahraini patients were diagnosed with lung cancer in the study period. 67.1% of the patients were male. The mean age at diagnosis was 68 years. The most common histological type was adenocarcinoma (58%), followed by squamous cell carcinoma (19%). EGFR mutation was found in 21.5% of non-small cell lung cancer cases with predominance of exon 19 deletions (29%) and exon 21 nucleic acid changes (21%). ALK mutation was found in 10.5% of EGFR negative patients.
Conclusion: Adenocarcinoma is the most common primary lung cancer in Bahrain. Genetic mutations of EGFR and ALK genes were found in 21.5% and 10.5% of adenocarcinoma cases, respectively.