Real-world disease burden and outcomes of brain metastases in EGFR mutation-positive non-small-cell lung cancer
Abstract
Aim: To evaluate the real-world impact of brain metastases (BM) among patients with EGFR mutation-positive (EGFRm) metastatic non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Materials & methods: This retrospective, observational matched cohort electronic health record study assessed adults with EGFRm metastatic NSCLC with/without BM. Results: Among 402 patients split equally between both cohorts (±BM), the majority were Caucasian (69%), female (65%) and with adenocarcinoma (92%). Overall symptom burden and ancillary support service use were higher and median overall survival from metastatic diagnosis was significantly shorter in BM patients (11.9 vs 16 months; p = 0.017). Conclusion: BM in EGFRm NSCLC patients can negatively impact clinical outcomes. New targeted therapies that can penetrate the blood–brain barrier should be considered for treating these patients.
Graphical abstract
Papers of special note have been highlighted as: • of interest; •• of considerable interest
References
- 1. WHO. Cancer factsheet (2018). www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cancer
- 2. . Cancer statistics, 2019. CA Cancer J. Clin. 69(1), 7–34 (2019).
- 3. . Advances in chemotherapy of non-small-cell lung cancer. Chest 130(4), 1211–1219 (2006).
- 4. . Brain metastases in lung adenocarcinoma: impact of EGFR mutation status on incidence and survival. Radiol. Oncol. 48(2), 173–183 (2014). • Retrospective real-world study that describes the association between EGFR mutations, frequency of brain metastases and survival.
- 5. . The impact of brain metastasis on quality of life, resource utilization and survival in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer. Cancer Treat. Rev. 45, 139–162 (2016). • Systematic review of burden of disease associated with brain metastasis from non-small-cell lung cancer.
- 6. Extra cost of brain metastases (BM) in patients with non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC): a French national hospital database analysis. ESMO Open 3(6), e000414 (2018).
- 7. . Brain metastases in non-small-cell lung cancer patients on epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors: symptom and economic burden. J. Med. Econ. 20(11), 1136–1147 (2017). • Burden of illnesss study in non-small-cell lung cancer patients with brain metastases treated with EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors.
- 8. . Epidemiology of metastatic brain tumors. Neurosurg. Clin. N. Am. 22(1), 1–6, v (2011).
- 9. . Epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors in the treatment of epidermal growth factor receptor-mutant non-small-cell lung cancer metastatic to the brain. Clin. Cancer Res. 18, 938–944 (2012).
- 10. . Impacts of EGFR mutation and EGFR-TKIs on incidence of brain metastases in advanced non-squamous NSCLC. Clin. Neurol. Neurosurg. 160, 96–100 (2017).
- 11. . Genotype-driven therapies for non-small-cell lung cancer: focus on EGFR, KRAS and ALK gene abnormalities. Ther. Adv. Med. Oncol. 3, 335–348 (2011).
- 12. . Molecular testing in lung cancer: the time is now. Curr. Oncol. Rep. 12, 335–348 (2010).
- 13. . Molecular pathology of non-small-cell lung cancer: a practical guide. Am. J. Clin. Pathol. 138(3), 332–346 (2012).
- 14. Clinical and biological features associated with epidermal growth factor receptor gene mutations in lung cancers. J. Natl Cancer Inst. 97(5), 339–346 (2005).
- 15. Brain metastases in patients with EGFR-mutated or ALK-rearranged non-small-cell lung cancers. Lung Cancer 88(1), 108–111 (2015).
- 16. . Current and future molecular testing in NSCLC, what can we expect from new sequencing technologies? J. Clin. Med. 7(6), 144 (2018).
- 17. Epidermal growth factor receptor mutational status and brain metastases in non-small-cell lung cancer. J. Glob. Oncol. 3(3), 208–217 (2016). • Large retrospective study evaluating incidence of EGFR mutations in patients with brain metastasis
- 18. 64 – Preclinical comparison of the blood–brain barrier (BBB) permeability of osimertinib (AZD9291) with other irreversible next generation EGFR-TKIs. Eur. J. Cancer 69(Suppl. 1), S28 (2016).
- 19. Preclinical comparison of osimertinib with other EGFR-TKIs in EGFR-mutant NSCLC brain metastases models and early evidence of clinical brain metastases activity. Clin. Cancer Res. 22(20), 5130–5140 (2016).
- 20. CNS efficacy of osimertinib in patients with T790M-positive advanced non-small-cell lung cancer: data from a randomized Phase III trial (AURA3). J. Clin. Oncol. 36(26), 2702–2709 (2018).
- 21. CNS response to osimertinib versus standard epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors in patients with untreated EGFR-mutated advanced non-small-cell lung cancer. J. Clin. Oncol. 36(33), 3290–3297 (2018).
- 22. Osimertinib in untreated EGFR-mutated advanced non-small-cell lung cancer. N. Engl. J. Med. 378(2), 113–125 (2018).
- 23. Overall survival with osimertinib in untreated, EGFR-mutated advanced NSCLC. N. Engl. J. Med. 382(1), 41–50 (2020).
- 24. . The role of EGFR mutation as a prognostic factor in survival after diagnosis of brain metastasis in non-small-cell lung cancer: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Cancer 19(1), 145 (2019). •• Recent meta-analysis describing the relationship between EGFR mutation, brain metastasis and survival
- 25. Efficacy of epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors for brain metastasis in non-small-cell lung cancer patients harboring either exon 19 or 21 mutation. Lung Cancer 77(3), 556–560 (2012).
- 26. The impact of initial gefitinib or erlotinib versus chemotherapy on central nervous system progression in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer with EGFR mutations. Clin. Cancer Res. 18(16), 4406–4414 (2012).