Reference articles on history, science, culture and more
Encyclopedia

T790M

Genetic variant

T790M, also known as Thr790Met, is a gatekeeper mutation of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). The mutation substitutes a threonine (T) with a methionine (M) at position 790 of exon 20, affecting the ATP binding pocket of the EGFR kinase domain. Threonine is a small polar amino acid; methionine is a larger nonpolar amino acid. Rather than directly blocking inhibitor binding to the active site, T790M increases the affinity for ATP so that the inhibitors are outcompeted; irreversible covalent inhibitors such as osimertinib can overcome this resistance.

01Clinical

Over 50% of acquired resistance to EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) is caused by a mutation in the ATP binding pocket of the EGFR kinase domain involving substitution of a small polar threonine residue with a large nonpolar methionine residue, T790M.

In November 2015, the US FDA granted accelerated approval to osimertinib (Tagrisso) for the treatment of patients with metastatic epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) T790M mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), as detected by an FDA-approved test, which progressed on or after EGFR TKI therapy.

Watch videos about T790MExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article T790M, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.