The relationship between tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy and overall survival in patients with non-small cell lung cancer carrying EGFR mutations

• Published in: Ai zheng Vol. 32; no. 3; pp. 136 - 140
• Main Authors: Suzuki, Hidekazu, Hirashima, Tomonori, Okamoto, Norio, Yamadori, Tadahiro, Tamiya, Motohiro, Morishita, Naoko, Shiroyama, Takayuki, Otsuka, Tomoyuki, Kitai, Kanako, Kawase, Ichiro
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Department of Thoracic Malignancy, Osaka Prefectural Medical Center for Respiratory and Allergic Diseases, 3-7-1 Habikino,Habikino-shi, Osaka 583-8588, Japan 01.03.2013; Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center
• Subjects: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Antineoplastic Agents - administration & dosage; Antineoplastic Agents - therapeutic use; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - drug therapy; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung - genetics; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Erlotinib Hydrochloride; Female; Humans; Lung Neoplasms - drug therapy; Lung Neoplasms - genetics; Male; Middle Aged; Mutation; Original; Protein Kinase Inhibitors - administration & dosage; Protein Kinase Inhibitors - therapeutic use; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases - antagonists & inhibitors; Quinazolines - administration & dosage; Quinazolines - therapeutic use; Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor - genetics; Survival Rate; non-small cell lung cancer; gefitinib; Tyrosine kinase inhibitor; erlotinib; epidermal growth factor receptor mutation
• ISSN: 1000-467X; 1944-446X
• DOI: 10.5732/cjc.012.10160

For patients with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutation-positive lung cancer, the relationship between the dose or duration of treatment with tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) and overall survival remains unclear. Here, we analyzed clinical data of 39 patients who were diagnosed with EGFR mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer and treated with TKI, but subsequently died. Several parameters were measured in this study: overall survival; first, second, and overall TKI therapy durations; first TKI intensity (actual dose/normal dose); and TKI rate (overall TKI therapy duration/overall survival). The response rate to TKI therapy was 50%, and the median survival was 553 days. After TKI therapy failed, 38.5% patients were re-challenged with TKI. We observed a moderate relationship [r = 0.534, 95% confidential interval (CI) = 0.263 to 0.727, P < 0.001] between overall TKI therapy duration and overall survival. However, we found no relationship between overall survival and first TKI intensity (r = 0.073, 95% CI = -0.380 to 0.247, P = 0.657) or TKI rate (r = 0.0345, 95% CI = -0.284 to 0.346, P = 0.835). Non-small cell lung cancer patients with mutation-positive tumors remained on TKI therapy for, on average, 33% of the overall survival time. These findings suggest that patients with EGFR mutation-positive tumors should not stick to using TKIs.