A shows the number of EMVs (× 108/ml) as determined by NTA, and B compares the protein concentration (mg/ml) of EMVs derived from 143B (bEMVs) versus HOS (hEMVs) osteosarcoma cells. Supplementary data to this article can be found online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tranon.2014.04.011. We thank Clarke Anderson for his discussions and PD-1/PD-L1 assay expert advice on EMVs. We thank Shrikant Anant for access to ultracentrifuge for isolation of EMVs

and helpful suggestions, Lane Christenson and Peggy Petroff for allowing us to use the NanoSight equipment for NTA, Jeremy Chien for access to the ChemiDoc MP system, Marsha Danley for helping with IHC, Barbara Fegley for assistance with the electron microscopy at the Electron Microscopy Research Laboratory, which is supported, in part, by funds from NIH Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) grant 9P20GM104936 and NIH grant S10RR027564. We thank Lynda

Bonewald and Sarah Dallas (University of Missouri-Kansas City) for helpful discussions. We thank Van Veldhuizen, Sullivan, and Perez for their support. “
“Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide [1]. Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) comprises approximately 85% of all lung cancer cases, of which more than 70% are initially diagnosed with unresectable advanced disease [2] and [3]. Systemic treatment, including molecular-targeted therapy, plays a central role in the clinical management Galunisertib of NSCLC. Small-molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), such as gefitinib and erlotinib, specifically target epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and generate much optimism in the treatment of NSCLC. EGFR mutations have been demonstrated to be the strongest predictive biomarkers for the efficacy of EGFR-TKIs [4], [5], [6], [7] and [8]. Patients with EGFR activating mutations, mainly in-frame deletions in exon 19 (19Del) and L858R substitutions in exon 21, have dramatic tumor responses and favorable survival benefit from EGFR-TKIs

[9] and [10]. However, most responsive patients would eventually experience progressive Thalidomide disease (PD). The secondary T790M mutation in exon 20 accounts for approximately 50% of the mechanism of acquired resistance [11]. Hence, it is of great clinical importance to analyze and track EGFR mutation status for predicting efficacy and monitoring resistance throughout EGFR-TKIs treatment in NSCLC patients. EGFR mutation analysis is recommended in National Comprehensive Cancer Network clinical guidelines for NSCLC. Nevertheless, a national survey shows that only 9.6% of NSCLC patients with stage IIIb or IV disease had EGFR-related testing performed in China [12]. Partially because tumor tissue, the optimal DNA source for EGFR mutation analysis, is always difficult to obtain.