Nishinarita N, et al. - Given resistance to epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKIs) has been observed in certain subpopulations of patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring EGFR mutations, researchers assessed the effect of smoking history on the efficacy of EGFR-TKIs. The findings offered a valuable rationale for considering smoking history as a predictor of the efficacy of EGFR-TKI in NSCLC patients harboring activating EGFR mutations.

Methods

• Researchers retrospectively reviewed records of patients (n=248) with NSCLC harboring activating EGFR mutations who were treated with gefitinib or erlotinib at their institution between March 2010 and June 2016.
• They also assessed the treatment outcomes.

Results

• Researchers found that the overall response rate was 59.7% and the median progression-free survival (PFS) was 10.7 months.
• In the ex- and nonsmokers vs in the current smokers, significantly higher overall response rate was observed (64.6 vs. 51.1%, p=0.038).
• A significant difference was also noted in the PFS between the current smokers and the ex- and nonsmokers (12.4 vs. 7.4 months, p=0.016).
• In multivariate analysis, smoking history was identified as an independent predictor of PFS and overall survival.