First-line treatment with TKI plus brain radiotherapy versus TKI alone in EGFR-mutated non-small cell Lung cancer with brain metastases: a systematic review and meta-analysis
A partir d'une revue systématique de la littérature publiée jusqu'en février 2023 (24 études, 3 184 patients), cette méta-analyse évalue l'efficacité, du point de vue de la survie globale et de la survie sans progression intracrânienne, de l'ajout d'une radiothérapie cérébrale au traitement par inhibiteurs de la tyrosine kinase du récepteur EGFR chez des patients présentant des métastases cérébrales ayant pour origine un cancer du poumon non à petites cellules avec mutation de l'EGFR
Background: It remains uncertain whether first-line treatment with upfront brain radiotherapy (RT) in combined with epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs) is superior to EGFR-TKIs alone for EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer with newly diagnosed brain metastases (BMs). Therefore, we performed a meta-analysis to address this issue. Methods: We searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases for eligible studies published until February 28, 2023. The primary outcomes of interest were overall survival (OS) and intracranial progression-free survival (iPFS), reported as hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: Twenty-four retrospective studies with 3184 patients were included. First- or second-generation EGFR-TKIs were used in each study. Upfront brain RT plus EGFR-TKIs significantly prolonged OS (HR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.64–0.88) and iPFS (HR = 0.61, 95% CI: 0.52–0.72) compared to EGFR-TKIs alone. There were no significant differences in OS and iPFS benefits from the combination therapy between asymptomatic and symptomatic patients, patients with exon 19 and 21 mutations, patients with 1–3 and > 3 BMs, and males and females, respectively (HRs interaction, P > 0.05 for each subgroup comparison). Conclusions: First-line treatment with upfront brain RT plus EGFR-TKIs is likely to be more effective than EGFR-TKIs alone. The benefits of combination therapy did not appear to be significantly affected by BM-related symptoms, EGFR mutation subtype, number of BMs, or sex.
BMC Cancer 2023