About the Authors

Masaharu Nomura

Affiliation Hamon Center for Therapeutic Oncology Research, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States of America

Hisayuki Shigematsu

Affiliation Hamon Center for Therapeutic Oncology Research, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States of America

Lin Li

Affiliation Cancer Prevention Research, Public Health Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, United States of America

Makoto Suzuki

Affiliation Hamon Center for Therapeutic Oncology Research, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States of America

Takao Takahashi

Affiliation Hamon Center for Therapeutic Oncology Research, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States of America

Pila Estess

Affiliation Department of Pathology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States of America

Mark Siegelman

Affiliation Department of Pathology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States of America

Ziding Feng

Affiliation Cancer Prevention Research, Public Health Sciences, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, United States of America

Harubumi Kato

Affiliation First Department of Surgery, Tokyo Medical University, Tokyo, Japan

Antonio Marchetti

Affiliation Pathology Unit, Clinical Research Center, Center of Excellence on Aging, University Foundation, Chieti, Italy

Jerry W Shay

Affiliation Department of Cell Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States of America

Margaret R Spitz

Affiliation Department of Epidemiology, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, United States of America

Ignacio I Wistuba

Affiliation Department of Pathology, University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, United States of America

John D Minna

Affiliations Hamon Center for Therapeutic Oncology Research, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States of America , Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States of America , Department of Pharmacology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States of America

Adi F Gazdar

To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: adi.gazdar@utsouthwestern.edu

Affiliations Hamon Center for Therapeutic Oncology Research, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States of America , Department of Pathology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, United States of America

Competing Interests

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Author Contributions

M. Nomura, H. Shigematsu, P. Estess, M. Siegelman, and A. F. Gazdar designed the study. M. Nomura, H. Shigematsu, T. Takahashi and I. I. Wistuba collected data or performed experiments for the study. M. Nomura made the primer sets for the target genes and modified the conditions of PCR reactions. M. Suzuki, H. Shigematsu, and I. I. Wistuba collected the samples for the study and their clinicopathological data. A. F. Gazdar supervised the analysis of the data. M. Nomura, L. Li, Z. Feng, H. Kato, J. D. Minna, and A. F. Gazdar analyzed the data. P. Estess interpreted early data, designed subsequent approaches, and provided expertise in experimental approaches. M. Siegelman provided technical expertise and instrumentation to perform the analysis. A. Marchetti analyzed the DNA samples for EGFR mutations. M. Suzuki, H. Shigematsu, A. Marchetti, M. R. Spitz, and I. I. Wistuba enrolled patients. A. Marchetti collected tissues and data from Italian patients in the study and extracted DNA samples from tissues. M. R. Spitz provided the DNA samples from normal individuals in the US. I. I. Wistuba provided the DNA samples from patients in US. J. W. Shay and J. D. Minna provided HBECs. All authors contributed to writing the paper.