Post by Mario Bernabeu Aracil

📄 Very happy to share our recent paper published in 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘈𝘥𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘔𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘖𝘯𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺: “𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗡𝗦𝗖𝗟𝗖 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲” (𝗥𝗔𝗗𝗢𝗡 𝗘𝗨𝗥𝗢𝗣𝗘 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆) In this ecological study, we explored whether estimated indoor radon exposure across European countries could be associated with the frequency of actionable genomic alterations in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), focusing on 𝗘𝗚𝗙𝗥 mutations and 𝗔𝗟𝗞 fusions. The study included data from 21 European countries and combined country-level indoor radon exposure estimates with published molecular epidemiology data from NSCLC cohorts. Key points from the work: ✅ A positive correlation was observed between 𝗔𝗟𝗞 fusion frequency and the proportion of dwellings with radon levels above 400 Bq/m³. ✅ No correlation was observed between 𝗘𝗚𝗙𝗥 mutation frequency and estimated indoor radon exposure. ✅ The signal appeared more clearly when considering the percentage of high-radon dwellings, rather than only average country-level radon values. ✅ These findings support the idea that environmental exposures may contribute to the geographical variation observed in the molecular subtypes of NSCLC. From my point of view, one of the most interesting aspects of this work is that it places 𝗺𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 within the broader framework of precision medicine and environmental oncology. Of course, these results need to be interpreted carefully: this was an ecological study, so causality cannot be inferred, and future research will require individual-level exposure, clinical, demographic, and molecular data. Still, I think this study provides an interesting proof of concept and reinforces the need to integrate 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲, epidemiological, clinical, and molecular data to better understand lung carcinogenesis, especially in populations with low smoking prevalence. This paper is also special to me because I contributed to the project during my time at Hospital Clínic–IDIBAPS. I’m very grateful to 𝗠𝗶𝗴𝘂𝗲𝗹 𝗚𝗮𝗿𝗰í𝗮 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗼, Laura Mezquita, and the whole team for the opportunity to take part in this work and contribute to a research line that connects thoracic oncology, molecular epidemiology, environmental exposure, and data-driven research. 🔗 Full paper here: https://lnkd.in/exgU92Ui