Key clinical point : A Dutch population-based study demonstrated the survival benefits of tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy in patients with stage IV non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring activating mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor ( EGFR) gene.
Major finding : The median overall survival ranged from 3.5 months in the EGFR- group aged >65 years (for whom TKI is not indicated) to 23.6 months in the EGFR+ group aged <50 years treated with TKIs. In the EGFR+ group, TKI use vs. nonuse reduced mortality risk by 53% (hazard ratio 0.47; 95% CI 0.42-0.51).
Study details : The data come from a retrospective cohort study that included 31,291 patients with nonsquamous stage IV NSCLC from the population-based Netherlands Cancer Registry.
Disclosures: The study received no funding. MJ Aarts, HJM Groen, and JGJV Aerts reported ties with one or more pharmaceutical companies. The other authors reported no conflicts of interest.
Source: ten Berge DMHJ et al. A population-based study describing characteristics, survival and the effect of TKI treatment on patients with EGFR mutated stage IV NSCLC in the Netherlands. Eur J Cancer. 2022;165:195-204 (Mar 3). Doi: 10.1016/j.ejca.2022.01.038