Gefitinib or Erlotinib vs Chemotherapy for EGFR Mutation-Positive Lung Cancer: Individual Patient Data Meta-Analysis of Overall Survival
Journal
Journal of the National Cancer Institute
Journal Volume
109
Journal Issue
6
Date Issued
2017
Author(s)
Lee C.K.
Davies L.
Wu Y.-L.
Mitsudomi T.
Inoue A.
Rosell R.
Zhou C.
Nakagawa K.
Thongprasert S.
Fukuoka M.
Lord S.
Marschner I.
Gralla R.J.
Gebski V.
Mok T.
Abstract
Background: We performed an individual patient data meta-analysis to examine the impact of first-generation epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy on overall survival (OS) in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Methods: Data from trials comparing EGFR-TKI against chemotherapy in exon 19 deletion (del19) or exon 21 L858R (L858R) EGFR mutations patients were used. We performed Cox regression to obtain hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Impact of postprogression therapies was examined in exploratory analyses. All statistical tests were two-sided. Results: Six eligible trials (gefitinib = 3, erlotinib = 3) included 1231 patients; 632 received EGFR-TKI and 599 received chemotherapy. At a median 35.0 months follow-up, there were 780 deaths and 1004 progressions. There was no difference in OS between EGFR-TKI and chemotherapy (HR=1.01, 95% CI=0.88 to 1.17, P=.84). There was also no difference in OS for Del19 (n=682, HR=0.96, 95% CI=0.79 to 1.16, P=.68) and L858R (n=540, HR=1.06, 95% CI=0.86 to 1.32, P=.59) subgroups (Pinteraction = .47), or according to smoking status, sex, performance status, age, ethnicity, or histology. However, EGFR-TKI statistically significantly prolonged progression-free survival (PFS) overall (HR=0.37, 95% CI=0.32 to 0.42, P<.001) and in all subgroups. Following progression, 73.8% from the chemotherapy arm received EGFR-TKI, and 65.9% from the EGFR-TKI arm received chemotherapy. Nine percent from the EGFR-TKI arm received no further treatment vs 0.6% from the chemotherapy arm. Following disease progression, patients randomly assigned to EGFR-TKI had shorter OS than those randomly assigned to chemotherapy (12.8 months, 95% CI=11.4 to 14.3, vs 19.8 months, 95% CI=17.6 to 21.7). Conclusions: Despite statistically significant PFS benefit, there is no relative OS advantage with frontline gefitinib or erlotinib vs chemotherapy in EGFR-mutated NSCLC. This finding is likely due to the high rate of crossover at progression. ? The Author 2017.
SDGs
Other Subjects
epidermal growth factor receptor; erlotinib; gefitinib; antineoplastic agent; epidermal growth factor receptor; erlotinib; gefitinib; protein kinase inhibitor; quinazoline derivative; advanced cancer; Article; cancer chemotherapy; cancer diagnosis; cancer genetics; cancer growth; cancer mortality; cancer patient; cancer survival; ethnicity; exon; follow up; gene deletion; gene mutation; histopathology; human; meta analysis; non small cell lung cancer; overall survival; patient coding; people by smoking status; priority journal; progression free survival; randomized controlled trial (topic); task performance; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung; comparative study; disease course; disease free survival; genetics; Lung Neoplasms; nucleotide sequence; retreatment; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; Base Sequence; Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung; Disease Progression; Disease-Free Survival; Erlotinib Hydrochloride; Exons; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Lung Neoplasms; Protein Kinase Inhibitors; Quinazolines; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Receptor, Epidermal Growth Factor; Retreatment; Sequence Deletion
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Type
journal article